The BestLaid Plans
by samcarter2
Summary: This story is loosely based on Subversion,Incursion 1, Incursion 2, and Intervention using my own original characters. The Lucian Alliance attacks, Missy has the babies, and there's a surprise at the end. Everett/OC
1. Chapter 1

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 1

Author's Notes: I would like to thank everyone involved with the Stargate franchise for the many hours of entertainment over the years and would like to thank my friends and family for their encouragement. Please review and let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: All characters and situations originating with SGU are not mine and will never be mine. This story is loosely based on Subversion, Incursion Part 1, Incursion Part 2, and Intervention. Any dialogue that's recognizable is credited to Gateworld episode transcripts.

There was a rhythm to the noises on the Destiny that Dr. Melissa Young had become accustomed to during the four months since her, the man that was now her husband and their crewmates had come to the Ancient starship. Not wanting to move yet from the warm bed she was lying in, she moved slightly trying to make her hugely pregnant body more comfortable and put her arms on top of her husband's arms where they were wrapped around her abdomen. She felt the kicking of their soon-to-be born twins and thought, 'Munchkins, you both want to be out of there something bad. Well, I can't wait until I can hold you. Do you want to give me any hints about your birthdate?'

She heard a quiet voice in her ear and felt a hand rub her belly. "I think that's a foot I feel. What do you think?"

Turning around, Missy saw that her husband Everett had awoken, and she grinned. "I think that might be an elbow. I'm never sure. There are so many body parts to keep track of."

Ev pulled her close to him and kissed her deeply. "We ought to do a pool. Let everyone feel your belly and then TJ can tell who was the closest."

"I think not." She rolled her eyes at him affectionately. "You are so incorrigible."

"You're no fun, baby. How did you sleep?"

Sighing, she propped herself up on the thin pillow. "Like a woman who has four weeks to go until her due date. I feel huge."

He gave her a sympathetic gaze. "You know, you don't have to get up. Actually, if I had my way, you would stay off your feet until you go into labor."

Missy caressed his cheek tenderly. "I appreciate that sweetheart, but I do have to get up for one thing."

"What?"

She grinned and winked at him. "Bathroom."

"Oh, ok." He helped her sit up, and she went into the bathroom to take care of what she needed to do. When she came back, Ev was sitting up and motioning to the place next to him. Missy climbed back in the bed with him and nestled in the crook of his arm. He asked her, "So, what do you have to do today?"

"Your question should be, 'What do we have to do today?'. TJ is giving me a prenatal exam. Did you forget?"

A contrite expression came over his face. "Yes, I did. I'm sorry. When do we need to go over there?"

"Just after we get our morning ration, but we don't need to go right away." She waggled her eyebrows and looped her leg over his.

"We don't?" He brought her back down to where they were lying on the bed. "So, what did you have in mind?"

"Well, TJ did say sex could bring on labor." She kissed him deeply. "So, what do you think?"

"I like any idea that involves me making love to my wife." Everett impishly grinned at her, put his hands under the t-shirt she was wearing and stroked her hips and belly. "How does that feel?"

Melissa moaned in appreciation. "How do you think it feels?" She pulled him close to her, and they spent the next few minutes exploring each other's bodies. When they were finished making love, they got ready for the day and then left their quarters to head for the Mess. They walked in and saw some of their friends at one of the tables. Seeing that two of the seats were still vacant, Missy and Ev sat down with Missy saying, "Morning Mac, TJ, Eli, and Chloe."

Lieutenant Jim "Mac" McDonald greeted them, "Good morning, Melissa. Good morning, Sir."

The rest of the group greeted one another and began having an animated conversation with Ev and Missy starting to eat the rations that Airman Becker brought to them. Everett, who was the commander of their crew, gazed around and noticed that their group was missing a few people. "Where are Lieutenant Scott and Sergeant Greer?"

"Oh, they'll be along," said Eli Wallace, who was the resident young genius of the crew. "Dr. Rush opened up another compartment and asked them to take a team and investigate."

Raising his eyebrows, Ev replied, "Oh that sounds interesting. Is it the bridge?"

"Don't think so, but he's going to update you when he knows for sure."

"Excellent." The group continued to eat their rations. A few minutes later, the people that had been mentioned all walked up to the table. Everett said to Dr. Nicholas Rush, who was the lead scientist in their group, "So, I heard you were able to open something else. Do you know what it is?"

Rush and the other two men grinned at them with Rush saying, "Oh, you'll like this one, Colonel. We found two more of those repair robots."

Sergeant Ronald Greer responded, "And they both work, Sir. This is going to be so cool!"

"And," Rush raised his voice so he could be heard. "We found another database." He addressed Melissa. "Lass, you'll like this one."

"Very cool!" exclaimed Missy. "I want to see it!" She saw Everett's admonishing look. "After TJ examines me, of course."

Everyone laughed since keeping Missy from working too much had become the project of the whole group. Lieutenant Tamara "TJ" Johansen spoke up. "Melissa, you and the Colonel can come on down if you want to. I've just got you and Sergeant Baker to examine today."

"Great!" They finished eating their rations, and everyone headed in different directions with Melissa, Everett, and TJ going to the infirmary. When they got there, the young medic had Missy hop up on the bed and gave her a careful examination taking her vitals and using Destiny's version of an ultrasound machine to take a picture of the babies. Once she was finished, Missy asked, "So, how's it looking?"

"It's looking good." She pointed to her belly. "You've already dropped a little bit."

Everett gave the medic a concerned look. "But she has four more weeks."

Shaking her head, TJ said, "She's not gonna go four more weeks, Sir. In fact, it's good we're doing the shower tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if Melissa had the babies in the next few days."

"Is that safe?" He put his arm around Missy's waist. "I mean, are the babies big enough to come out?"

She nodded reassuringly. "She's almost 36 weeks, Sir. That's really good for twins. And we're pretty well equipped in here." TJ motioned around the infirmary. "I don't anticipate having a problem."

"Good. Does she need to be doing anything special?"

"Well, she really shouldn't be on her feet for more than a few hours at a time. But other than that, she should be fine."

He helped his wife hop down from the examining table. "That's good." Turning to Melissa, he asked, with a fond smile, "Do you want to come with me and check out Rush's new find before going back to lie down?"

Missy's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Do you mean I don't have to talk you into it? Sure!" She gave him a hug. "That would be great!"

"I know better than to even try with something like that. Come on." Ev offered her his arm. As they started to walk out of the infirmary, he called out, "Thanks TJ. We'll talk with you later."

The medic replied, "You're welcome, Sir." She and the others nodded at Sergeant Lindsay Baker who had just walked into the infirmary before TJ snapped her fingers and called, "Wait a minute, Sir, Melissa, I forgot something." They turned around as TJ reached into a drawer and pulled two men's shirts out of a drawer. She handed Missy and Sergeant Baker, who was also pregnant, each a shirt. "I found these with the supplies the other day. This should take care of your ogling problem or at least lessen it."

"Thanks, TJ," said Melissa.

Her husband's eyes narrowed and he touched her arm. "Ogling problem? Someone has been looking at you? Why have I not heard about this until now?

While Missy was thinking of how to respond, TJ said to her, "You haven't told him?" Then she turned to the Colonel and said, "Sorry, Sir. I told them the other day they should have said something."

Everett turned Missy to face him and took her hands in his. "Well, she's going to say something now. Spill it."

His wife brushed her hair off her shoulders and sighed in resignation. "All right. Ev, you know I don't like to run to you with every little thing, and the guilty culprit was given the scare of his life by a couple of people so I don't think he'll be bothering us anymore."

"Oh no, Missy, you're not getting away with just that. Tell me all of it."

"Ok, the other day, Lindsay and I were on the observation deck looking at the view, and there were several other people in there. She leaned forward and told me that one of the other scientists was staring at our…" Melissa motioned to her chest. "Breasts. Remember, I had to quit wearing my bra about six weeks ago because it was too small. Well, she had to quit wearing hers too."

Sergeant Baker spoke up. "I'm sorry, Sir. I didn't think it would be a problem. It was just so uncomfortable."

The Colonel warmly smiled at the young officer. "Don't worry about it, Sergeant. I've told Missy, and I'll tell you, I want you both to be comfortable." He turned back to his wife. "What happened next?"

"Well," said Melissa, "Sergeant Reynolds was standing with us, and he kind of took exception to where Dr. Roberson was looking. He walked up to him and said, 'These ladies both have eyes. If you need to talk to them, you can look at their eyes and nowhere else. If you have a problem with that, I'll put a squad of Marines together and let them have a chat with you.' He was dressing him down pretty good, wasn't he, Lindsay?"

The other woman grinned. "He sure was."

"Anyway, Nicholas came in, noticed what was going on, and asked us what had happened. I told him, and he walked up to Reynolds and Roberson. He got in Roberson's face and told him, 'You will respect these women and not look at any other parts of their bodies but their eyes because if you don't, I will add one thing to what the sergeant will do. I will tell Dr. Young's husband, and we will come after you. Is that understood?' Roberson stammered out that he understood and ran out of there. Once he was gone, we all burst out laughing."

A voice came from behind them. It was Dr. Rush who said, "Roberson does shoddy work. I was glad to have an excuse to yell at him. And he's a friend of Miss Wray's who is also not on my favorite list." He addressed Missy. "You didn't tell him, lass?"

Melissa rolled her eyes. "No, because I didn't want a big fuss made." She touched Everett's cheek. "You're not mad, are you?"

Sighing in resignation, Ev shook his head, "No, I'm not mad, but Missy, it is okay for you to ask for my help. You're not one to be trivial about things, and most everyone knows it. Please tell me if someone bothers you." He grinned and winked at her so she would know he was teasing. "That way, I can have Dr. Rush look for a planet to throw them on."

The rest of them chuckled as Nicholas said with a grin, "We have a couple of good ones coming up, Colonel. Just let me know what kind of environment you want."

"All right, all right," said Missy as she laughed along with them. "I will tell you."

"Well, now that that's settled," said TJ, "The shirts that I gave them will give them more coverage so no one else should stare."

The colonel replied, "I appreciate that, TJ. Thank you." Nodding, the medic took Sergeant Baker over to a bed for her exam. He then turned to Dr. Rush. "Did you need me for anything?"

A look of excitement appeared on Rush's face. "Well, I need the lass to look at the database and confirm my translation, but I think what we found earlier is gonna help us improve our shield capability."

"Really? Well, let's go take a look."

They walked out of the infirmary and headed for the recently opened compartment. Once they arrived, Nicholas took Melissa over to the database, and she looked at the translation he had completed so far. She finished and motioned to the two men to come and look. "Nick is right, Ev. If you send the repair robots here and here, they'll repair the damage to the shields, and we'll increase our capacity two-fold."

"Wonderful, you can go ahead and take care of that." He noticed that Rush looked like he wanted to ask another question. "Anything else?"

Gazing at him hesitantly, Nicholas replied, "I was wondering if the lass could stay in here awhile and help with the translation. I didn't come in the infirmary soon enough to hear what Lieutenant Johansen said…"

Everett grinned as he saw the pleading looks from his wife and Dr. Rush. "Well, she said that Missy could have the babies at any time and that she shouldn't be on her feet for more than a couple of hours at a time, but if you promise to send her back after two hours and keep an eye on her, that's fine with me."

"Thank you, Colonel. I can have Mr. Brody bring her stool from the Control Room."

Missy then hugged and kissed Ev. "Thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome," said Ev with a warm smile. "I know you would be terribly bored if I just made you stay in the bed. Remember though, two hours. I need to go check in with Scott and Greer."

"All right."

The Colonel left the compartment, and Melissa and Dr. Rush went straight to work. For the rest of the day, she alternated between resting and working and managed to help Rush and some of the other scientists get some productive work done. By the end of the day though, she was very tired and grateful to get in the bed once more. As she drifted off to sleep, Missy wondered what discoveries would be made tomorrow, and if tomorrow would be the day her children would be born.


	2. Chapter 2

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 2

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

The next morning Melissa woke up to see her husband staring at her. He pulled her close to him, kissed her deeply, and then cradled her face in his hands. She gave him a look of concern. "Morning Ev. What's wrong?"

Everett shrugged his shoulders. "I woke up early because I had a bad dream." He hugged her close to him.

She propped herself up on the pillow and touched his cheek tenderly. "What was the dream about?"

"Well, I dreamed that you had the babies, but the Alterans didn't come because the babies were early, and something bad happened. TJ couldn't save you." Some tears fell down his face. "I had the same dream all night. It was either you or the babies she couldn't save."

"Oh sweetheart, I'm here, I'm okay." She gently kissed his lips. "I'm sorry you didn't get any sleep."

"Naah, it's okay. I'm just glad I woke up and found you next to me. I was really scared, honey."

"I know. It's okay." They both sat up on the bed. "So, what do you think? Do you think the Alterans will come when I go into labor or when my due date is supposed to be?" The Alterans were the race that had built the Destiny, and when Everett and Melissa had come on the ship with their crewmates, they had also found out they were both children of Alteran parents who had been abandoned on their home planet of Earth. An Alteran who had ascended had appeared to them to tell them that a present-day Alteran ship would be meeting them when it was time for the babies to come, but he hadn't named a specific day.

"I don't know. I think that's why my mind went into over drive yesterday when TJ said you might go into labor this week."

Melissa gave her husband an admonishing look. "Ok, Everett, you need to relax because you know, you won't be able to once the babies are here." She put her hands under his shirt. "And I know just the way to make sure you do."

He grinned and winked at her as he pulled her back down. "And what did you have in mind, young lady?"

"You'll see." They began kissing and touching each other, their bodies intertwined. A few minutes into their lovemaking, Missy was surprised to hear the door of their quarters open and was even more surprised to see Dr. Rush staring at her and Ev a moment later. Her eyes opened wide as she admonished him. "Nicholas Rush, what made you think you could come in here without knocking?"

Rush stammered incoherently as Everett looked at his wife ruefully. "You're not kidding, are you?"

"No." She then continued talking to Nicholas. "Nick, if you don't want me to tell Linda you were rude, you will turn around and wait outside our door until Everett says you can come back in." When Missy saw the other man hesitate, she exclaimed, "Now!" Rush turned around and left in a hurry. Once he was gone, she lay back on the bed and sighed. "I don't know what possessed him to do that. Linda's told me that he's been preoccupied since we had that run-in with those aliens awhile back, and he and Chloe were kidnapped."

Everett shook his head. "I don't know either, baby, but we should get dressed."

"All right." She brushed the side of his face. "I know we didn't get to finish, but do you feel better, Ev?"

"I do. You take good care of me. I love you."

"I love you too."

They climbed out of the bed and got ready for the day. A few minutes later, Ev went to the door and ducked his head out. "You can come back in, Doctor." The two men walked back in to see a t-shirt and sweatpants clad Missy sitting on the room's small sofa braiding her long dark hair. Everett sat down with her while Rush sat in one of the chairs. Gazing at Rush, he asked, "Ok, Doctor, what was so important that you had to come walking in here?"

Nicholas gave them both a contrite look. "I am very, very sorry. I was so preoccupied by the dream I had that I just wasn't paying attention."

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, Missy said, "You and Everett with the dreams. I'm gonna have to tell Linda to get you to relax." She put the hair fastener in her hair and snuggled into the crook of Ev's arm. "What was your dream about?"

He stood up and started pacing. "Well, remember when we got that update from Earth about the Lucian Alliance causing trouble in the Milky Way three days ago?"

"I do," replied Everett. "What about it?"

"Ever since then, I've had flashes in my sleep of when the Lucian Alliance was planning to attack Icarus. I saw all the people involved, and I even saw myself giving information to them."

Gazing at him in astonishment, Ev asked, "You're the one who told them where Icarus was?"

"That's what I dreamed about tonight. It wasn't me. It was Colonel Telford. I saw his face in the window of a car door."

Melissa stiffened, remembering when their sometime visitor from Earth had used Ev's body to attack her a few months back. Her husband rubbed her back soothingly as he replied to Rush, "You had one of those dreams about Telford too? Scott also had one. His was about the day Missy was attacked. If I had my way, he would be taken off the stones for good. I've just had to make due with never being the one to switch with him. I can't believe that's he's a traitor though. I just thought he was an ass." The three of them chuckled as Everett gave the other two a thoughtful look. "He wasn't like this when I knew him in the Academy. Did well in his classes, but he also knew how to have a good time. I've had a hard time reconciling that person with the one who hurt Missy. So much so that…" He stopped, lost in thought.

"So, that what?" asked Rush.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that to," said Melissa.

"Well," replied Ev, "major personality changes usually have a trigger, and now that Rush has had that dream, I'm wondering if something happened to Telford while he was undercover with the Lucian Alliance."

His wife looked at him quizzically. "You never told me about that."

"Well, it was classified, and the op, frankly, was a complete disaster. A bunch of people got killed on PX5-121 where they were trying to set up a new base." He shrugged his shoulders. "There was an inquiry, but Telford told them he couldn't risk blowing his cover, and it was all swept under the carpet. I'm wondering now though, if he was caught and maybe brainwashed."

"That's an interesting thought," said Nicholas. "You might be right. What do you think we should do?"

Everett studied the other man closely. "Melissa and I were talking about when the Alterans were going to make an appearance before you came in. If you remember, they said they would come when the babies came."

"I remember."

"What we don't know though is if that means they're going to come when Missy goes into labor or when it's her due date. And TJ said yesterday that she's already dropped some and that she wouldn't be surprised if it happened this week."

"So, we have a four week window." Rush gazed at the woman he had come to care for almost like a daughter. "We should probably see if the Lucian Alliance is gonna try something else to get their hands on Destiny. Would you like me to go and see what I can find out? Telford's due to use the stones today. You would just need to bump Roberson off the list."

Following Rush's stare, Ev smiled at his wife fondly and then said, "I appreciate that, Doctor. You should realize though, you'll be going in blind since we're not sure who, at Homeworld Command, has been compromised."

"Then I'll just get the information and come back. Leave the macho stuff to the military."

"Ok, let me go find Mac, Greer, and Scott and tell them what I need from them, and make sure that Missy eats. What time is Roberson supposed to go?"

"About an hour."

"That'll be perfect. I'll tell Riley about the change in schedule too." The two men stood up. "Listen, Rush, be careful. You're not trained for this."

"Yes, please be careful, Nicholas," said Melissa who took Ev's arm as she stood up herself. "Everett's right. Your talents lie elsewhere."

"Oh, I will, lass," said Rush. He nodded at both of them and walked out.

Once he had left, Missy turned to her husband. "Everett, are you really not gonna send him in there with any back-up?"

Everett shook his head. "Naah, he'll have back-up. I just wanted his reactions to be more honest in case something happened. As soon as he goes, I'm going to slip into the communications room myself and go and see General O'Neill. Have him place a tale on Rush."

"Isn't that risky?'

"Well, we need to trust someone, and he's probably the best bet." He offered her his hand. "Let's go tell Riley about the schedule change and then go to the Mess. I want to make sure you eat and find Mac, Greer, and Scott.

Smiling, Missy took his hand. "All right."

They walked out of their quarters, went to the Communications Room and then over to the Mess. When they arrived, they sat down with Eli and Chloe and began eating the rations Airman Becker brought them. A few minutes later, Mac, Scott, and Greer came over to the table, and Everett greeted them. "Good morning, gentleman. I need to speak to the three of you. I have assignments for you."

"Good morning, Sir," said Lieutenant Matthew Scott. "What do you need?"

The colonel took the others to a corner of the room and gave them instructions. When he was finished, Greer asked, "So, you want me and Scott to be Colonel Telford's official escorts."

"I do," said Ev. "I don't plan on being gone very long, and when I come back, I'm going to see if I can get him to incriminate himself. Most important though, try and keep him away from the baby shower." He pointed to where Missy was still sitting with the others. "I would like this to be as pleasant as possible for her. What happened with Telford still gives her nightmares."

"Understood, Sir," said Scott. "From what I dreamed, he tried to see how badly he could hurt her. I can understand her not wanting to be near him."

"Thanks Lieutenant." They walked back to the table, and everyone finished eating their rations. About ten minutes later, Everett gazed at his watch telling his officers, "Okay, we need to go." Melissa walked with them out to the hallway. Her husband then took his hands in hers and said, "I think I'll say good-bye here." He touched her belly before kissing her forehead. "Be careful, and I'll be back soon. I love you. Have fun at the shower." He motioned back to the Mess where they could see some of the civilian women making preparations.

Leaning forward to kiss his lips, Melissa said, "I will, sweetheart. I love you too."

Everett nodded, and he, Scott, and Greer walked down the hallway while Missy and Mac walked back into the Mess. When they were almost to the Communications Room, they met Dr. Rush who said, "Okay, I've already been in there. Riley said Roberson wasn't very happy when he told him. Are we set?"

"Yes," said the Colonel. He pointed to Scott and Greer. "They're going to be Telford's escorts. Listen, be careful."

"I will." He walked into the Communications Room with Scott and Greer while Ev scooted around the corner to wait for the change to take place.

A few moments later, he saw the younger officers walk out with a loudly protesting Telford. "Why was the schedule changed? What could Rush possibly have to do at Homeworld Command?

Scott said, "Sir, he had to consult with some scientists about a potential problem. It was unavoidable."

"All right, well, let's go to the Control Room." Telford walked off with Scott and Greer.

Once he had done so, Everett scooted back around the corner and into the Communications Room. He greeted Sergeant Riley. "Good morning, Sergeant."

Riley replied, "Good morning, Sir. You're going to Homeworld Command too?"

"Yes, if you have any problems, Lieutenant Scott is in charge."

"Understood."

The colonel sat down at the table, took a stone out of the box, and placed it on the console. A moment later, he opened his eyes, making the adjustment to his consciousness being in another body halfway across the galaxy. He was addressed by a young lieutenant. "Welcome to Homeworld Command. And you are?"

"Colonel Everett Young. Authentication code—alpha, gamma, delta, beta. Son, I need to see General O'Neill immediately.

The lieutenant snapped to attention. "Yes, Sir."

He escorted him out of the office and over to O'Neill's office where, a few moments later, the general walked in. "Everett, this had better be good. I'm missing a national security meeting for this."

Ev replied, "Sorry, Sir. It's very important."

Chuckling, the general replied, "You wouldn't be apologizing if you knew how boring those meetings were. Now, what do you have for me?" Beginning his explanation, Everett told him about the dreams Rush and Lieutenant Scott had had and about their suspicions of Colonel Telford. He also said that Rush was seeing what kind of information he could find out and asked him to make arrangements to have him followed. O'Neill nodded as he picked up the phone. "I can do that." He talked to someone briefly on the other end of the phone before hanging it back up. "It's taken care of." He looked at him curiously. "I wasn't expecting to talk with you until after the babies came. How's Missy?"

"Well, this was important. She's doing fine. Tired of being pregnant."

"I can imagine. Were you going to try and question Telford yourself?"

"I can. How far I get though will depend on how far you want to go."

O'Neill thought for a long moment. "Well, that brainwashing can be a tough thing to get past. See what you can get by just talking first, and if you can't get anything, let me know, and we'll go to the next step."

"Understood, Sir." The two of them continued to talk strategy.

Meanwhile, back on Destiny, the majority of the crew had gathered in the Mess for the baby shower. Linda Wilson and Chloe Armstrong, who were two of the civilian women on the crew, had her sit in the seat of honor they had prepared. Motioning to the pile of gifts on the table, Linda said, "Okay, we thought we'd have you open these first and then we're going to play a couple of games."

"Cool!" said Missy.

She reached toward the table, but then heard a voice. It was Sergeant Mark Reynolds who said, "Ma'am, open this one first." He was holding a large bundle in his hands covered by a military jacket which he placed on the table.

"Okay." Melissa took the jacket off and saw a handmade cradle. She was rendered almost speechless. "Oh, oh, Sergeant, that's lovely."

Reynolds grinned at her. "Dr. Rush and Mr. Brody were able to help me figure out my tool problem. It should be big enough for both of them—at least while they're small."

"I appreciate it so much. Thank you." She took a package off of the table and undid the small cloth around it to see two small outfits. "Oh, these are cute. Who are they from?"

A slim Asian woman called out from the edge of the crowd. It was Dr. Lisa Park who said, "They're from me, Melissa. That's the surprise I was talking about."

"Thank you, Lisa."

Missy took another bundle off the table as Chloe said, "That one's from me."

The other woman opened it and saw an Air Force t-shirt fashioned as a one piece baby outfit. She grinned at her friend. "That's adorable."

"I just hope it stays together. I'm still working on the second one. Hopefully, I'll have it done by the time they get here." She motioned to Missy's stomach.

"I'll take it whenever you want to give it to me." Melissa saw Sergeant Riley, who had just come in, with a bulky package. He handed it to her, and she placed it on the table. Opening it, she saw two small trucks. "Wow, Sergeant, you had to be inventive to make these."

Riley smiled at her. "Thank you, ma'am. Every kid deserves a toy, and I figure once they're old enough they can have races with them."

"Well, they're perfect. I know they'll enjoy them." She continued to open presents.

In the meantime, Colonel Telford had completed his inspection of the Control Room and the Gate Room. When he, Scott, and Greer were leaving the Gate Room, he said, "I need to speak to Miss Wray. Do you know where she is?"

"Yes, Sir," said Scott. "I believe she is at the baby shower."

"Baby shower?" Telford raised his eyes inquisitively but didn't say anything else. They walked to the Mess where they saw a good portion of the crew. Telford saw Melissa, and the expression on his face hardened. He went to the table where everyone was and noticed that Camille was sitting over to the side. Nodding pleasantly at her while ignoring the piercing glare Missy was giving him, he said, "Camille, may I speak with you please?" She nodded and got up to leave with him while the party continued.

As they left, Missy watched them with a concerned expression and wondered if the conversation they were about to have would interfere with what Dr. Rush and her husband were trying to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 3

Author's Notes – Thanks for the reviews. Randallsbaby, this one is for you.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Camille Wray and Colonel Telford walked to the Observation Deck. Once they were there, Telford said, "Do you know what's going on? Young usually doesn't change the schedule like that, and he usually doesn't leave that bitch's side."

The woman who had formerly been employed with the International Oversight Authority in her position on Icarus shook her head exasperatedly. "They don't tell me anything. After Roberson was told he had been taken off the schedule, he came to me, but I didn't know either. Young has the group of people he relies on for counsel, and they all universally hate my guts. In fact, most of the ship hates my guts except for the few that worked for the IOA on Icarus. It's been lovely being here, and I mean that in all sarcasm." She looked out the window at the colors which were a result of the faster than light drive of the ship. "I regret ever coming into space. Are you sure we haven't been forgotten at home?"

Placing his hand on her shoulder in support, Telford shook his head. "No, you haven't. We have our best people…." His voice trailed off as he saw Colonel Young approaching them at a brisk pace. "Hello, Colonel. I think we need to talk."

Everett grimly smiled at him. "Yes, we do." He gazed at Camille. "Privately."

"All right." Telford nodded at Camille and went down the corridor with Young. When they got to the room that Mr. Brody had set up as a bar, Ev motioned for Telford to sit down, took out a bottle of alcohol, and poured each of them a glass. "You're allowing alcohol on board now?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the other man replied, "Doubt I could stop it if I wanted to."

"So, your command of this ship is as solid as ever?"

"I'm doing my best to make it work."

"Hmm." He takes a small sip of the liquid while Everett takes a much larger one. "Why did I connect with Rush?"

"Oh, we'll get to that. We need to clear the air a little bit." He noticed that Telford had finished his glass and took the bottle back out. "Have another."

The colonel put his hand on the top of his glass. "I'm on duty. You're on duty."

"Yes, and we're both a billion light years away from the nearest disciplinary hearing, so what? You afraid of what you might say?"

Young smiled smugly at Telford who laughed. "I don't have anything to hide from you or anyone else."

"Is that so?"

"I could have brought you up on charges for assaulting a fellow officer. You should just thank me and let it go."

'Oh, I think we both know that you don't want the details of that little incident getting out. In fact…." A look of disgust appeared on Everett's face. "I really don't think you want President Hayes to find out that you assaulted his pregnant goddaughter. But I can make that happen."

Telford's eyes darkened with anger. "That bitch you call a wife deserved everything she got."

Breathing to control his own anger, Ev then smiled at him icily. "But I'm here, right. That's what's killing you, isn't it? Because this was supposed to be your prize, your reward for all that hard work - an entire year living with those criminals, thieves, murderers, pretending to be one of them. I mean, that's gotta take its toll."

"I'm not doing this again."

He stood up and started to walk away, but stopped when Young continued talking. "The man I used to know would not let thirty-seven people die to cover his own ass, so what changed? What happened to you, David?"

Telford looked at him for a long moment, as if considering whether to open up to his colleague. Eventually, however, he turned away. "Thanks for the drink."

He left the room, and Everett picked up his radio. "Scott, please make sure that Colonel Telford is assigned quarters." After he heard the quiet acknowledgement, he sat there for a moment considering what the next step was going to have to be, and then left the room to go back to the Communications Room.

Meanwhile, the baby shower had continued in the Mess. Melissa finished opening the presents and then Linda and Chloe led the group in several games. While this was going on, Adam Brody and Dale Volker, who were two of the other scientists on the ship, walked into the Mess and headed for the table where Missy was sitting. They sat down with her, and Brody greeted her, "Good morning, Dr. Young."

Melissa smiled warmly at them, "Good morning, Mr. Brody. Good morning, Dr. Volker. What can I do for you?"

"Well, we were wondering." He pointed to Volker. "Your husband has been back and forth all morning using the communications stones, and we were wondering if everything was all right."

She thought for a moment before answering as she knew that Everett would probably not want all of the details of this getting out, but also knowing that his philosophy since being on the ship had been to be as upright as he could about what was going on. "There has been some concern about Colonel Telford, and Everett is just trying to find out what's going on. As soon as he finds out something concrete, I'm sure he'll let everyone know."

Turning to Volker, Brody said, "I told you she wouldn't put us off. She and Young have been good about keeping everyone in the loop." He looked back over at Missy. "I appreciate you telling us, Dr. Young. Are you going to be in the Control Room later?"

"Yes, as soon as the shower is over, I was planning to come in there for a couple of hours before lying down." She stroked her stomach. "TJ said I shouldn't be on my feet for very long."

Brody grinned. "It's always good to follow the doctor's advice. Talk with you later." Volker also said farewell, and the two men left the Mess.

Once the party was over a little while later, Melissa was sitting at the table with TJ, Chloe, Mac, and Eli. Chloe noticed the tears in her eyes, and asked, "What's wrong, Melissa?"

Missy shook her head ruefully as she touched her belly. "I'm about to have two babies. What makes me think we can raise them here?"

Patting her shoulder in support, TJ responded, "You are going to be fine, Melissa. There are 70 people on this ship that are just as excited about the babies." She motioned to the slings that Missy had been given. "And I'll bet a ration that the colonel will be wearing one of the babies as often as you will."

Eli and Mac reassured her too with Mac saying, "You're forgetting something, Melissa. There's gonna be babies coming after yours. I think things will be fine." He motioned to the trucks. "And I'm looking forward to the pool I'm going to set up in a couple of years as to which kid will win their truck race."

Laughing, Melissa said, "So, you're gonna teach them about gambling early, are you?"

"Well…" He grinned at her.

She grinned and gave them a look of gratitude. "Thanks guys. I appreciate it." Missy motioned to the pile of gifts. "Can you help me get this back to my quarters?"

Everyone agreed, picked up the various gifts, and left the Mess. As they were walking down the hallway, they ran into Everett and Corporal Marsden. Melissa's eyes lit up when she saw her husband. "Hi, sweetheart."

Ev came up to her and gave her a hug and kiss. "Hi, honey. How did the shower go?"

"It went well." She motioned to the pile of gifts.

Corporal Marsden then warmly smiled at her and said, "Hello, Missy. You're looking good."

Gazing at both of them curiously and surprised at the young man's familiarity, Missy asked, "Corporal?"

"Nope," said Ev. "It's General O'Neill. Stones."

Her eyes lighting up once more, she reached out and gave O'Neill a hug. "Hi, Jack. How are you?"

"Doing fine," said O'Neill. "I was hoping to get to see you. Your sisters are badgering my office daily about what we're doing to get you guys home."

Missy chuckled. "How did they take hearing about the SGC?"

"They took it pretty well. Your dad always taught you girls to expect the unexpected. I think that helped. They especially want to see those babies." He motioned to her stomach. "Patti has asked to be put on stand-by for when you go into labor. She wants to be available to assist your medic."

"That's great. I know TJ will appreciate it. Tell them I said hi and tell them Everett is taking care of me."

"I will, honey." He turned to Everett and told him, "Ok, let's go see what the deal with Telford is." They nodded farewell to the others, and each group went in a different direction.

The group that Melissa was with reached her quarters a few minutes later. They put the gifts away and then left to go in different directions. Melissa and Eli went to the Control Room where Brody and Volker were also working. For about thirty minutes, they all worked at various consoles. She was about to ask Eli for some help with a math equation when they all heard Everett over the radio asking for Brody. He replied, "Yes, Colonel?"

"Please cut life support to the quarters that Colonel Telford is in."

Everyone in the Control Room gasped, and Brody gazed at Missy inquisitively. She gave him an "I don't know" look, but then said, "I trust that Everett knows what he's doing and that whatever this is has to do with the safety of the ship."

The other men looked at her solemnly as Brody said, "That's what I wanted to hear." He turned the air off to that part of the ship.

As they waited impatiently to hear the outcome, Eli said, "He has to be bluffing." The sounds they heard over the radio also included Camille Wray's voice yelling for the life support to be turned back on. Finally, the Colonel told Brody to turn the air back on, and everyone sighed in relief.

Once the room was full of air again, Ev went in and gave Telford CPR. He was able to revive him and watched as his eyes opened, and he started coughing. Bending down beside him, he asked, "David, David, what is it? What's going to happen?"

Telford's eyes blinked several times, and he looked around the room confusedly like he had just awoken from a long sleep. He recognized the man speaking to him and finally realized what he needed to say. "It's the Lucian Alliance. They're coming. They're going to attack the Destiny."

The other man's eyes widened in horror as he listened to the information Telford gave him. Once he finished, Everett told Scott and Greer to take him to the infirmary and headed for the Control Room to tell them what had happened and what they needed to prepare for. When he got there he touched his wife's arm in greeting, softly smiling at her, before addressing everyone. "We are about to face a threat with many implications. The Lucian Alliance has found another Icarus-type planet and is working, as of now, to be able to dial the ninth chevron. If they succeed, and they more than likely will if they have Dr. Rush, their next step will be to come through our gate. That's when we'll need to be ready to stop them."

"Understood, Colonel," said Brody. "What do you need us to do?

"Start working on the best ways to isolate the gate room from the rest of the ship. I'm going to report on the location of the Lucian Alliance to Homeworld Command, and when I come back, we'll have a ship-wide meeting in the Mess."

"All right."

Everett left to go to the Communications Room while the others began the work he had asked them to do. About thirty minutes later, he returned and had the crew congregate in the Mess. Once everyone was there, he started telling everyone what had happened and what Homeworld Command was going to do to help them. As he finished, he said, "In the best case scenario, Earth forces take the launch point intact and we gain a supply line from home. The worst case scenario is that our forces don't make it before the attack is launched, in which case we'll have to deal with them on our end. In that event, all non-military personnel will be ordered back to your quarters where you will remain until the situation has been resolved. Make no mistake: this will be dealt with swiftly and decisively. Thank you. That is all." Everyone got up to leave the Mess either to head for their assigned tasks or to go back to their quarters. Walking to where his wife was sitting, he offered a hand to help her up and then said, "I really wish I could tell you to go to our quarters and stay there."

Touching his cheek gently, Missy grinned and winked at him. "And why aren't you trying?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I said something to Mr. Brody about them possibly having to do without you, and he told me you had become as knowledgeable as Rush about the Alteran language and technology—that we would have more of a chance of success with you in there."

Melissa took his hands in hers. "I'll be okay, Ev. Remember, I have my stool in there. I can sit if I need to."

"I know." He motioned to the door. "Go on. I'll check on you in a little while."

His wife nodded, and left the Mess to go to the Control Room. Before the Colonel could leave, he was approached by Camille Wray who said, "This intelligence was based on the info of someone who had been brainwashed by the Lucian Alliance? Are we really going to trust him?"

Rolling his eyes, Ev replied, "Camille, I thought Colonel Telford was one of your good buddies." He saw the exasperated look she gave him. "No, I don't totally trust him, but we need to prepare for this as there is a good chance the intel is good. He is going to be watched."

Camille started at him for a long moment before nodding and leaving the Mess. He left the Mess as well knowing that their best chance of victory would be the preparations that they would be completing over the next few hours and wondering what the end result of those preparations would be.


	4. Chapter 4

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 4

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

For the next few hours, everyone on the ship prepared for the attack. Melissa worked with the other scientists in the Control Room while Everett met with teams of military personnel who would be defending the area outside of the Gate Room. They evacuated all of the civilians who had quarters near that area so the teams could set up a defense perimeter. Once that was finished, Ev went to the infirmary to check on Colonel Telford. He saw TJ finish with her exam of him and walked up to them. "How are you feeling, David?"

TJ spoke up. "Well, physically, he's fine even after the whole bring him back from the dead thing. As far as the rest…" She left the remainder of the thought unspoken.

Nodding, Ev replied, "Thanks TJ."

The medic went over to another part of the infirmary to continue preparations while Everett gazed back at Telford. "Well?"

Telford responded, "Like I'm coming out of a fog I've been in for a long time."

"That's understandable."

A look of haunted anguish came across the other man's face. "What's really hard is seeing me doing all of those things and not having any control over it. You really went all the way, didn't you, Everett?"

"I kind of had to. You were being a stubborn son-of-a-gun."

"True." Hesitation appeared on his face. "Listen, I'm sorry."

Everett shook his head. "You weren't in control of your actions."

"How can you say that? Especially after what I did to your wife? "

His body tensed, and he paused for a long moment before answering the question. "That's a hard one. Missy still has nightmares, but the part of me…the part of me that didn't have someone I cared about hurt knows what brainwashing can do.

"Thank you. Listen…."

Seeing that Melissa had come into the infirmary, Ev said, "Hold that thought." He walked up to where she was talking with TJ. "What's wrong, honey?"

Giving him a sheepish look, Missy replied, "I'm sure it's nothing, but Lisa noticed that I had dropped, and I also started having pains. The vote in the Control Room was unanimous." She wryly chuckled. "They want to make sure I'm not in labor."

TJ gazed at her carefully. "You're the same as you were yesterday. You're probably having Braxton-Hicks contractions." At Ev and Missy's inquisitive look, she continued, "Fake labor, but you need to be careful; sit as much as possible."

"All right."

Everett asked the question that concerned him the most. "Are you sure she's okay to be in the Control Room?"

"If she sits, she should be fine."

"Good. Missy, let me finish with Telford, and I'll walk back with you."

Turning around to where he was looking, Melissa saw the other colonel and blanched with fear. Realizing that she needed to overcome it, she told her husband, "I'll walk with you." She took his arm.

He glanced at her in surprise. "Sure." They went over to where Telford was. "What were you going to say, David?"

David was silent for a moment; not having expected to see Melissa. He then said, in a quiet voice, "Hello, Dr. Young."

Sensing calmness from him she had never felt before, Missy's fear evaporated. Nodding in greeting, she said, "Hello, Colonel."

Turning back to Everett, he continued, "You need to send me back. I'm of more use to you with the Lucian Alliance."

Ev shook his head. "Not yet. You're still recovering."

"Everett!"

He grinned at him. "Remember, this is my command." Turning to TJ, Young continued, "He stays here, and you, be careful. I'll let you know if Missy needs any help."

"Yes, Sir," responded TJ.

Missy and Everett then left the infirmary and began walking towards the Control Room. When they were halfway there, they passed the supply closet. He opened the door and told her, "Come on, we need to look for something."

She followed him in. "Everett, do we really have time for this?" Noticing that he was rummaging through some boxes, she asked, "What are you looking for?"

Pulling an object out, he said, "I'm looking for this." It was a bullet-proof vest. He placed it over her shoulders. "You need to wear it."

Ruefully chuckling, she motioned to where the fastener wouldn't meet the other side of the vest. "Ev, it's not gonna fit. You should have someone else use it."

"You are so stubborn." He reached into another box and found a rubber band. Attaching it to either side of the vest, he managed to fit it over her belly. "There, now it fits." Brushing her cheek gently, he said, "I've got to protect my family, baby."

Smiling at him tenderly, she replied, "You're so good to me—to us."

"Well, you give the same back to me ten-fold. Ok, since we won't be alone for a while, I thought we'd do one for the road." He wrapped his arms around her, and they breathed each other's scent in. "I love you, Missy, with all my heart." Touching her belly, he continued, "And I love you, munchkins. Now, I have special instructions for you. You need to stay in there right now. That's the safest place for you. You can take care of mama better that way, okay?" He felt them kick. "I think they understood me."

"I think they did, and I love you too." She held him close to her. "We probably should get back."

"Yep." They left the supply closet to go back toward the Control Room.

When they arrived at the Control Room, the three men that were already in there looked up with expectant expressions and Adam Brody said, "Well?"

Missy rolled her eyes at him. "I am not in labor. TJ says I'm having Braxton-Hicks contractions."

Looking up from the console she was working on, Lisa Park grinned and said, "I told you that's what it was, Adam. You're the one who has a nephew. You should have known."

Everyone burst out laughing as Adam pointed to the other men. "They wanted her to go too."

Lisa went and put her arm around Melissa. "Men, can't live with them, can't live without them."

"That's right," said Missy. "Anything happen since I've been gone?"

"No." She looked at Everett. "We finished the preparations in the Gate Room, Colonel."

"Thank you," said Everett."

Joining Lisa at one of the consoles, Missy and the other scientists continued to work. A few minutes after Eli left to check on the kino recordings in his room, the gate started lighting up. Brody called out to Colonel Young. "It's starting."

The others gathered around the monitor and saw the chevrons lighting up. Everett nodded briskly. "I see that." He spoke into his radio. "Look sharp, Lieutenant. They're about to come through."

They heard Lieutenant Scott's voice over the radio. "Understood, Sir."

When the gate finished lighting up, people from the Lucian Alliance began coming through. Everett observed them carefully preparing to have Brody vacate the atmosphere in the room so the teams that were waiting would be able to take the group into custody with minimal casualties. He was almost ready to give the order when he saw Telford's body come through the gate. Knowing that it was actually Dr. Rush, he looked around at the others who all realized the same thing. Melissa gave him a nod of support. Not wanting to risk Rush's life, he then said, "We're going to have to do this the hard way." He took out his radio to signal the teams. "Prepare to take prisoners on my mark." They acknowledged his signal, and Ev left the control room to join Scott's team. Once he got there, he ordered the Lucian Alliance to put down their weapons, but didn't hear an answer. He contacted the Control Room. "Tell me what you see."

Missy and the others observed the Gate Room. She pointed to the monitor. "What are they doing with the doors?"

His eyes widening in horror, Brody said, "I think they're trying to open them." He picked up his radio. "They have some devices that they're attaching to the doors."

"Get rid of the atmosphere now!" ordered the Colonel.

"Too late." They heard the sounds of an explosion, people yelling, and weapons firing. Noticing that Melissa had blanched with fear, Brody touched her shoulder. "He'll be fine. Your husband is very good at what he does."

"Thanks," replied Missy.

The group waited several tense minutes and were relieved to see Everett and Greer walk into the Control Room. He nodded reassuringly to his wife and then announced to the people gathered there, "They took us by surprise, and I know they caught several of our people. What I don't know is why they didn't keep going." Looking over at Brody who was at a monitor, he asked, "What are you looking at?"

Brody pushed some buttons and spoke into the speaker. "You're welcome. You want to get the hell out of there now?" He turned to Young. "That was Rush or Telford. Not sure which. They got TJ."

"Dammit! I've got Scott compiling a list of the missing, presumed captured, now." He walked over to the monitor which showed prisoners being herded into the Gate Room. Recognizing Sergeant Riley, TJ, and Lieutenant Colson, he shook his head grimly before seeing Riley look directly at the kino. A woman that seemed to be directing efforts followed Riley's stare and took her gun out shooting the kino. When it went dark, Everett gritted his teeth. "Well, I guess that's that."

Melissa touched his shoulder. "How many did they get?"

"Don't know. Scott should be back momentarily." A few moments later, the young lieutenant walked back into the Control Room. Ev looked at him inquisitively. "What's the damage?"

"About a dozen," said Scott. "That includes Riley, TJ, Eli, and Chloe. They've retreated back to the area surrounding the Gate Room."

"Smart—only keep the area they can hold securely."

Brody spoke up. "When they retreated, I closed the doors behind them. With their technology, it wouldn't take them long to open them, but at least I've brought us a little time."

"Thank you." He saw Dr. Rush's body walk into the Control Room. Not knowing who it was, he asked, "David?"

Rush responded, "No, it's me, Nicholas. Colonel Telford is back in his own body." He walked over to a console. "What did they take over?" Brody and Volker showed him the areas that were now under the control of the Lucian Alliance. He then gazed at Young. "Why didn't you vacate the atmosphere in the Gate Room?"

Volker replied, "It was to save you, Dr. Rush." The rest of the group nodded in agreement with him."

"It wasn't me. I switched back when I came through the gate. I'm guessing because of the proximity to the stones."

"I see."

"All right." Everett called for their attention. "We need to figure out how we're going to get the prisoners back. I'm especially worried about them having TJ." He glanced at Melissa who had paled knowing that the stress wasn't good for her.

As the rest of the group started discussing the options, Missy leaned over and whispered, "I'm okay right now, Ev. Don't worry about me."

He whispered back, "I always worry; Missy, but I'll take your word for it." Everyone continued to talk about what they could do. A few minutes later, Ev's radio sounded. Picking it up, he said, "This is Colonel Young."

A woman's voice was heard over the radio. "This is Kiva of the Lucian Alliance. We have control of your gate room and several of your people prisoners, but we are not interested in harming anyone. I invite you to join us to explore all the wonders of this galaxy."

"No, we're not interested in doing that. What I need you to do is to place all your weapons in the center of the room and put your hands up, or I will vacate the atmosphere out of the room you're in."

She gave a mirthless laugh. "Oh come on now, Colonel. If you had the capability of doing that, you would have done it by now."

"But that doesn't mean I don't have the capability."

"Even if it kills the hostages?"

"If it means I stop you, then yes."

They could hear her clench her teeth. "I'll be in touch." The radio went silent.

The colonel looked around at all of them. "Well, that went well." He saw Melissa looking intently at a console. "What is it, Missy?"

Missy said, "We're getting a signal. Did you set up something with Telford?"

He walked over and looked at the console. "I did. Good eye." Turning to Scott and Greer, he told them, "He's leading a team of them in our direction. Come on." The three military officers hurried out of the Control Room. They met up with Lieutenant James and a few other officers and had them come with them to a room near the edge of the ship. It didn't take long for them to hear noises on the other side of the door once they got there. But, what really concerned Everett, was that the lights started flickering at the same time. They heard a loud noise, a bump, and then saw the door open. All of them aimed their weapons, but when Everett saw that it was Telford, he motioned for the others to put theirs down. "Where is everyone else?"

Telford put his weapons back in his holster. "They ran away." He pointed to a pile of dust on the floor. "What happened?"

Gazing at the pile bewilderingly, Ev shook his head. "We had nothing to do with it. What is that?"

"It used to be a person. A beam of light came out from the ceiling and pulverized him. Thought it was some weapons you had just found."

"Nope, not us. I'll check with the Control Room when we get back."

The other colonel nodded. "We'll have to try this again. Give me a radio." Young had an airman throw him a radio as he continued, "I'll signal you on Channel 2 when I'm ready."

"Understood." They watched him retreat down the corridor and then went back to the Control Room where Melissa and the other scientists were already trying to figure out what was going on. "What's going on? One of the Lucian Alliance people was turned into a pile of dust from whatever it was."

"Don't know yet," said Missy.

Lisa spoke up from where she was looking at another console. "This might be a possibility, but I need you to check my translation." Melissa nodded and walked over to her console.

Everett and the others waited patiently for them to finish. While they were waiting, Camille Wray walked in the room and addressed Ev. "Colonel, we really need to negotiate with these people."

Staring at her in shock, Everett said, "Whatever we do is up to me and not to you or have you forgotten who is in charge."

She faced him fiercely. "Well, your military strategy hasn't worked so far."

Angrily looking up from where he was working, Rush said, "They have come on this ship with weapons. Do you think, Miss Wray that they might want to use them?"

That started a loud argument between the three of them about the best way to proceed. The others try and talk over them, but can't make themselves heard until Lisa Park called out, "All of you, shut up!" She walked over to Melissa who was in the throes of what looked like a contraction. Leading her back to her stool, Lisa asked, "Braxton-Hicks again, Melissa?" Missy nodded and worked on getting her breathing under control. Lisa then turned to the others. "Shame on all of you. We need to fix this so we can get TJ back." She gazed at Everett who was looking shame-faced and who had walked over and put his arm around Missy's waist. "Colonel, I am sure you don't want your wife going into labor prematurely." Ev shook his head. "And Camille, I know you don't like them, but we are millions of light years away from your precious IOA. If you can't make yourself useful, then leave!"

Rush, Everett, and Camille gaped at the slim Asian woman in astonishment. Ev then turned to his wife and apologized. "Sorry, baby." He looked over at Camille and said in a calmer voice, "Okay, how about we…?" The radio beeped. It was Kiva who asked about the man who had died. The Colonel told her they didn't know why he died. He held his hand over the radio and said to Camille, "See if you can get her to negotiate." When she nodded, he spoke into the radio again, "I've got someone who would like to talk to you."

He handed the radio to Camille who introduced herself and proposed a prisoner exchange. Kiva said she would consider it and called back a short time later. She let TJ speak to the Colonel. "Sir, they want me to treat their wounded, and I need some medical supplies from the infirmary."

"Understood." He spoke to Kiva. "So, are we agreed?"

"Yes," said Kiva. "We will make the exchange shortly."

Everett sent Greer and Scott to get the medical supplies ready and to prepare the prisoners for transfer hoping that this would work and that they would be able to at least get some of their people back.


	5. Chapter 5

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 5

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

A few minutes later, Everett and Greer walked up to the door separating their section of the ship from the section that the Lucian Alliance held. He signaled to Brody on his radio. "Open the door." The door opened, and they and the Lucian Alliance prisoners walked in and to the middle of the hallway. Looking around carefully, Ev saw the door at the end of the hall open, and a woman he assumed was Kiva and a few of her men came down the hall. He gave her an inquisitive look. "Where are your prisoners?"

Kiva answered him. "They'll be here in a moment." She called out to the door where she had come from. "Send the medic in." Another man brought TJ through the door and up to where Kiva was standing. She told her, motioning to the medical bag Greer was carrying, "Check that, and make sure it's what you need." While she was checking it, Kiva pointed to Greer and asked Everett, "Who is this?"

"Ronald Greer is also a medic. I'd like to propose an even exchange—Greer for Lieutenant Johansen."

Shaking her head, Kiva replied, "I don't think so," and then ordered her men, "Bring in the prisoners!"

The Colonel saw three of the civilians on his crew come in nervously as the lights flickered on and off once more. Everyone who had a weapon aimed it at someone on the opposite side of the room. He told TJ, "Start walking this way."

"If she does, I will kill her and the rest of the prisoners."

Greer spoke up. "I have got the shot, Sir. Remember what you said."

"I do," said Ev. He saw TJ move back towards the other men with an apologetic glance and noticed that her lips were moving. "But it will be a bloodbath if we try." Kiva pushed the civilian prisoners towards them and then went back into the Gate Room herself. "Dammit!

Everett, Greer, and the civilians retreated to the other side of the door. Once Brody closed it, they started walking back towards the Control Room. As they walked, Scott and Camille met them. Scott looked at the former prisoners curiously. "Wait a minute. Where are Eli and Chloe?"

One of them said, "They weren't in there with us." Everett nodded for Camille to take them to safety.

The military personnel kept going in the direction of the Control Room. Greer asked, "What was TJ saying?"

Ev replied, "She said, 'Keep Melissa calm, and tell Mac I love him.' Does he know?"

"Yes, when I left the Mess, Peterson was trying to keep him from going ape shit."

"Understood." They arrived back at the Control Room, and he asked the people in there, "What is going on with the lights?"

"We're working on it," said Melissa who was typing rapidly into one of the consoles.

Dr. Rush asked, "What happened?"

Shaking his head in disgust, Everett answered him, "She released the three civilians she had—none of whom was Eli or Chloe. The lights flickered as she was telling us no to exchanging TJ too. Dammit!"

The radio beeped. It was Kiva who said, "Your officer is going to tell you what I think of dishonesty." The next thing they heard was TJ's voice telling them that one of the airmen was dead. After Ev told her he understood, they heard Kiva's voice once more. "I am not at all impressed with how people from Earth handle things. I will get back with you." The radio went silent.

Slamming a wall in frustration as he looked at his pregnant wife, Ev ordered, "Find out what's going on!" He stalked out of the room.

Missy shook her head and gave the others an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, guys. He's just worried about me and the babies."

"It's okay," said Lisa. "I understand perfectly."

"So do I," said Rush who had a contrite expression on his face. "Lass, ever since I went on that unwilling visit to those aliens, Linda has told me that I have more of a tendency to run off at the mouth. If I've upset you, I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Nicholas," said Melissa. "Everett has a protective tendency that goes back to our days of being on SG-16." She motioned to the consoles. "We should figure out what's going on." They started working again. A few minutes later, she noticed that her husband had walked back in with a tray of rations. Knowing that this was his way of apologizing, she smiled at him as he gave it to her. "Are you okay, Ev?"

"I am," replied Everett. "What about you?"

Understanding that he would want her to be honest, his wife replied, "I'm still having Braxton-Hicks, but they're not as bad. Sitting down is helping."

He nodded and touched her shoulder gently. Then he asked the group in a calmer voice "Have you found anything yet?"

"Yes, every crash has been exactly forty-six minutes, thirty-seven point four seconds apart."

"So?"

Missy motioned to Volker who said, "It will be easier to show you. Brody?" The other man walked over to a holo screen and activated it. The screen showed two bright lights rotating in circular orbits. These orbits were marked and intersecting each other.

The Colonel looked at it intently for a moment and then asked, "So, what am I looking at?"

Dr. Rush spoke up. "That our problem. It's a binary pulsar which is a combination of a rotating neutron star and probably a white dwarf orbiting around a single point in space."

"What does that mean for us?"

Recognizing his lack of comprehension, Melissa and the other scientists continued the explanation. "Pulsars give off gamma radiation and X-rays as they rotate - short deadly bursts of ionized radiation."

"The shield and the hull are protecting us right now," said Brody.

She nodded in confirmation. "Right, but the pulsar is literally feeding off of the white dwarf, stripping off material and creating an accretion disc."

Lisa said, "The white dwarf ploughs through that material every orbit."

"Which," stated Volker, "Gives off an even bigger gamma ray burst on top of what we're already getting hit with, and that's why our systems are shutting down. The shield has to draw extra power in order to compensate."

Staring at his screen, a disgruntled Rush said, "And that happens every forty-six minutes, thirty-seven point four seconds. It's what's killed that man ... and it's gonna be what kills us."

Brody shook his head. "It was just bad luck. The Lucian Alliance just happened to dial in when the damned thing was in range. The Destiny had to drop out of F.T.L. to make the connection."

Gazing at all of them, Young said, "Well, why are we still here?"

His wife replied, "Our FTL capability has been compromised." She saw the look on his face that told her he was about to lose his temper again. "Don't yell, Everett! We don't know why yet."

Ev breathed deeply a few times and smiled. "You know me too well, Missy. Sorry."

Rush spoke up. "The shield is what's keeping us alive, but sooner or later it's gonna fail. And when it does …"

The smile disappeared from the Colonel's face. "We're dead."

"Yeah."

"Okay, what's the best way to fix this?"

"You're not gonna like it," said Melissa. "We figured out we don't have to shield the entire ship."

"Just the side facing the pulsar, right?"

"That's right," said Brody.

Lisa motioned to her console. "We'll have to leave some shielding on the underside of the ship, but we should be able to transfer something like ninety percent."

Rush nodded. "Should buy us enough time to restore F.T.L. capability."

A voice came from the door. It was Camille Wray who asked, "So, why haven't you guys done it yet?"

Brody replied, "Because it can't be done from inside the ship."

"Oh," said Everett. He gazed at his wife. "This was what you meant when you said I wouldn't like it."

"Yep," said Missy. "Someone's gonna have to go for a walk, and the only access point is through an area the Lucian Alliance controls." She pointed to her console. Any volunteers?"

Scott and Greer looked at each other, and Scott said, "Sure, we'll do it."

Dr. Rush explained what they needed to do, and when he was finished, Everett told Camille, "While we're gone," He motioned to himself, Scott, and Greer. "Call Kiva, and tell her what's going on and what we need. We have about thirty minutes until the next window."

"Understood," said Camille. The three military officers left so the two that were going to do the spacewalk could get geared up. She activated her radio and explained the situation to the Lucian Alliance leader.

When she finished, Kiva thought for a moment and then said, "Transfer control of all the ship's systems to us and we will let them in."

"You do know we'll all die if they don't do this."

"Yes I do, and I want you to transfer the ship's systems to us."

Camille breathed deeply for a moment. "We'll have to get back with you." She shut the radio off ignoring the scientists that were in there with her.

A short time later, Everett, Scott, and Greer came back in the room. Ev asked, "So, did she go for it?"

"Not quite." She explained what Kiva's new demands were.

Shaking his head, Ev replied, "I shouldn't be surprised."

Dr. Rush said, "Well, we really don't have a choice. They probably won't kill all of us right away."

"Yeah, they won't kill you," said Volker.

He looked at the other man angrily. "I wouldn't be envious of me. You forget I've recently been in their employment. Not a lot of fun."

Everett glanced at his heavily pregnant wife before responding. "I am not a big fan of letting any of them near Missy."

His wife stared at him determinedly. "But you know we don't have a choice, Everett."

Before he could answer her, Young's radio clicked three times, and he picked it up switching it to Channel 6. He spoke into it quietly. "David?"

"Yeah, Everett."

"It's about damned time."

"It took me a bit. Listen, go ahead and transfer control of the ship and surrender yourselves—everyone except for Rush and Brody. Have them go to one of the auxiliary control rooms."

"They'll notice Rush is missing."

"Tell them he panicked and ran away. They'll believe it. The first chance I get, I'll access one of the Gate Room consoles and transfer control of the ship back to Rush."

"Well, when they find that out, they'll start shooting prisoners."

Rush interrupted, "Then I won't let them find out—at least not right away. They can have control of the ship until I decide they can't."

Telford, who had heard Rush, said, "They'll herd all of the prisoners into one compartment, and if they don't, I'll suggest it. When they do, I'll contact Rush on this channel. I'll tell him which compartment so he can vent the atmosphere from the surrounding ones."

"Where are you gonna be?" asked Everett.

"You let me worry about that. Listen, one more thing. Kiva and the rest of them do not need to find out who Melissa is."

A set expression came over Ev's face, and he gazed over at Missy who had a look of fear on hers. "Understood."

"Okay, I gotta go."

Everett turned the radio off and looked at the rest of them. There was a long pause after which Rush said, indicating himself and Brody, "Colonel, we will take the lass with us when we go if you want us to."

The other man shook his head. "I appreciate it, Doctor, but you two will need to move fast, and right now, that's not Missy's forte." He chuckled as he saw her smile ruefully. "I'm gonna let her go with Park and Volker when they take the crew into custody. And we're gonna hope for the very best. Listen, give us a minute." The others nodded, and he took Melissa over to a corner of the room where he took her hands in his. "We're gonna be okay, baby. But, if something happens, you have to know how much I love you—how much I've always loved you."

"I love you too, sweetheart," said Missy. Tears came down her face as she softly stroked his cheek.

He hugged and kissed her and then touched her belly. "And I love you, munchkins. Take care of Mama, okay?" They both felt the kicks in response. "Honey, try not to worry." He saw her raised eyebrows. "I know, I know, but try for me." When he saw her nod, he continued, "One other thing—when they've taken control, you imagine my arms around you, around all three of you, okay?"

"All right, but you've gotta make me a promise too. Be careful. I don't want to raise these babies by myself." After he nodded, she hugged him close to her. "Let's get this done."

They walked back to the others, and Everett picked up his radio to call Kiva. "This is Colonel Young. I am prepared to surrender control of this ship provided certain conditions are met."

Kiva's voice was heard over the radio. "Go ahead."

"I need you to guarantee the safety of my people."

"Agreed."

"Nobody gets hurt during the changeover and no retribution afterwards."

"Anything else?"

"That's all." Ev turned the radio off.

Turning to Brody, Rush then said, "Well, Mr. Brody, time to panic and run off."

Volker interrupted, pointing to Rush's console. "Hold on a sec. We just got a message from an unexplored part of the ship."

The others gazed at them curiously as Rush looked at it. "It's Eli. What are we gonna do?"

Everett replied, "Well, you gotta go. Good luck."

"Yeah, you too," said Rush. He looked at Missy. "And you as well, lass. Don't have those babies before I come back." He grinned and winked at her.

"I'll do my best, Nicholas," replied Melissa with a tremulous smile. "Be careful."

Rush nodded, and he and Brody left the room. Ev then told Lisa and Melissa. "Transfer control to them." They started working on their consoles as he continued, gazing at Volker and Park, "Look after her please," indicating his wife with his head. They nodded in agreement, and he touched Missy's hand in farewell leaving the room to meet Camille, Scott, and Greer who had already left for the meeting point. As he walked, he hoped and prayed that this would work and that his wife would be safe until they were reunited.


	6. Chapter 6

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 6

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Shortly after they transferred control, doors started opening up all over the ship. The three who were still in the Control Room could hear the sounds of people being rounded up. A couple of squads walked in, and Volker, Missy, and Lisa raised their hands. One of the soldiers said, indicating Missy, "Nothing was said about a woman with child."

The other soldier replied, "They're all to go to the same place." They took the three over to the Mess where the rest of the Destiny crew was. When they got there, Linda Wilson walked up to them and gave Missy a hug. "Are you okay, honey? Is Nicholas okay?"

Melissa shrugged her shoulders. "He was okay the last time I saw him, and I think I am." She clenched her teeth as a contraction washed over her.

Gazing at her worriedly, Linda asked, "Are you having contractions, Melissa?"

"Just Braxton-Hicks, I think. But I can't even ask TJ. The Lucian Alliance has her." She started crying. "And Everett's with them now to send Scott and Greer out in the suits to fix the shield. I am so scared, Linda."

The older woman hugged her again. "It's okay." She motioned to where several of Melissa's friends were sitting. "Come on, you need to sit." They all walked over to the table, and Missy sat down with Airman Jessie Schulz and Sergeant Lindsay Baker. While she was talking with the other two women, Linda took Lisa aside. "You do know we're about to have a big problem, don't you?"

Lisa nodded. "Yep." She held her fingers very close together. "Melissa is about this close to going into labor. I hope this doesn't take long."

"Me either."

Meanwhile, Everett and Camille had gone to the section near the Gate Room where Scott and Greer would have to access the outside of the ship. The two younger officers were wearing the space suits and carrying the helmets. Kiva, Dannic, and a few of her other soldiers arrived with one of them taking Ev's pistol and patting him down for other weapons. Once he had done that, Kiva asked, "Are we ready to do this?"

"Yes," said Ev. The group looked up as the lights blinked again and went out. Scott suppressed a nervous laugh and looked anxiously at Greer who returned the look. A few moments later, the lights flickered and came back on. Kiva activated her radio and ordered one of her men to open the doors. Once they were open, Everett said, "Forty-six minutes, gentlemen."

"Yes, Sir," said Scott. He and Greer went through the doors and walked over to a hole in the ceiling which was covered by a force shield.

Kiva activated her radio and told the man at the other end, "They're in."

The doors closed again. Scott and Greer put their helmets on and checked each other's connections to ensure that they were fitted properly. Over their radios, they heard the Lucian Alliance man in the Gate Room say, "Attenuating the shield strength in that compartment." Greer walked over to the hole in the ceiling, stood underneath it, and watched as the force shield dissipated over the hole. "Dialing back artificial gravity." A moment later, Greer and then Scott rose up into the air. They landed on the surface of the ship and started walking towards the array.

Gazing over at Young and Camille, Kiva said, "Well, I guess we wait now."

"I guess we do," said Everett nonchalantly leaning against a wall. He decided to take a minute to check on Melissa through their empathic link. This was something they had found out when they had first come to the Destiny and discovered their true Alteran background. At first, they had only been able to feel each other's emotions over a distance and send basic communication. Over the last few months, they had refined it so they could actually talk to one another and send mental pictures. When he opened his mind to hers, he could hear weeping, and he touched her mind to get her attention. "What did I tell you about worrying, honey?"

Missy spoke back through their link. "Everett, you're okay."

"Yep, the guys are out working on the array right now. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Linda thinks I might be in the beginning stages of labor though."

"What?"

She reassured him. "It's not too bad yet."

"All right. We've got to make sure you stay calm." He sent her a mental picture. "Do you see it?"

"Yes. It's you holding me." Her mind calmed down as she accepted the comfort from his mind. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll keep it up as long as I can. I love you, baby."

"I love you too."

Everett observed the corridor once more and noticed that Kiva was no longer there and that Dannic and two of his men were keeping watch on him and Camille. His radio activated, and he could hear Scott's voice. "Colonel Young, this is Scott. How are we doing for time?"

"Fourteen minutes," replied Young.

"Ok, we're almost done."

"Understood."

A few minutes later, Dannic received a communication over his radio. When he was done giving instructions, he turned to Young. "Where are your men?"

"What?"

"Your soldiers. How did they get in the Gate Room?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Dannic reached over and took Young's radio from its sleeve on his jacket and handed it to the other man. He then grabbed him roughly by the arm and started to move him away from the corridor.

Knowing something terrible had happened; Ev sent a quick 'stay strong' message to Missy and turned to Dannic. "I've got people outside this ship."

The other man ignored him and continued to shove him down the corridor with the other Alliance men urging Camille to follow them. As they were led away, Dannic told the other man what had happened. "The enemy has somehow breached our lines. Both Telford and Kiva have been shot. I'm assuming command."

Outside the ship, Scott and Greer had reached the hole that would allow them entry back into the ship and noticed that the force shield was still there. Scott activated his suit's communication device. "Uh, Colonel Young, this is Scott. We're ready to come back in. Lower the shield." They waited for a moment, and when nothing happened, Scott spoke again. "I repeat, this is Scott, over. The shield is still up. We cannot get back inside."

Inside, Young said to Dannic, "He just saved our damned lives. Lower the shield."

"Keep moving," said Dannic.

"Lower the damned shield!"

The Alliance man spun around and backhanded Ev across the face. He sunk to his knees in pain, and the other two men picked him up continuing to walk rapidly down the corridor. A few moments later, they reached the Mess and roughly shoved Young through the doors. With nothing to hold him up, Ev fell to the floor. When he stood back up and looked towards the group that was already in there, the first person he saw was Missy, her eyes wide with terror. She stood up as Dannic said, "Separate the civilians. Take them to another compartment."

His men went inside and started to bundle anyone not in uniform out of the room. When they reached Missy, she fought their hands. "No, no, no! I want to die with him."

Linda and the other women tried to get her to come, but she kept fighting them. One of the Alliance men backhanded her across the face, and she crumpled to the floor. While she was regaining her senses, she heard Everett's voice in her mind. "Missy, stop. Go with them."

She spoke back to him. "No, they're going to kill you. I want to die with you."

"No, you need to survive, Missy. For me and for our babies."

"I don't want to." She wept as he tried to comfort her.

"I know you don't, baby." His voice broke. "I would rather have you in my arms, but it will make this easier if I know the three of you are okay. Promise me."

Melissa let the men pick her up and took one more opportunity to gaze at her husband who had tears pouring down his face. In their link, she said, "I promise."

"Good." He watched the men herd the group of civilians out of the Mess and close the doors. Continuing to talk with her through their link, he transmitted the same mental picture he had shown her before. "Do you see it?"

"Yes."

"I'll keep it up as long as I can. I love you, Missy, with all my heart and soul, and I'm holding you. I'm holding all three of you."

"We love you too, Everett."

He felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. It was Mac with a look of sorrow on his face. The younger man quietly spoke into his ear. "Link?"

"Yeah," said Ev. "At least I can comfort her until this is over. You know, the Alterans could show up right now, and I would be happy."

"Yep, me too. What happened to Scott and Greer?"

Everett shook his head in disgust. "They've left them outside the ship to die after they saved all our lives. Listen, if by chance you…"

"If I make it, and you don't, I will look after them, Sir. I promise."

He placed a hand on Mac's shoulder. "Thank you."

At that moment, the doors opened again and a squad of Alliance men walked in with their rifles raised. One of them gestured for the group to kneel, and when they didn't immediately comply, the squad moved among them pushing them to their knees. They came up to Young whose mind was still linked with Melissa's. He ignored them and thought to his wife, "Do you want me to break the link when I see them start to shoot? I really don't want you to feel me die."

Missy spoke once again through their link. "No. Not until the last minute—the last minute. I love you, Ev, always and forever."

"I love you too. All right." The lights began to flicker signaling the return of the pulsar. Ev's tears filled with tears as he prepared to die. Moments later, the lights went out, and the link he had with his wife was inexplicably broken.

When the lights came back on, the Alliance soldiers lifted their weapons and prepared to shoot on Dannic's order. Before they could, Varro, the other Alliance lieutenant, rushed into the room. "Dannic!"

The other man's head snapped back towards him. "The military personnel are a liability."

"Kiva's still alive. The medic was shot. And I had a report from the guards watching the civilians. One of the women, the one with child, was insisting on seeing these people." He pointed to the military personnel. "The guard told her they were dead, and she's gone hysterical."

"The medic was military. It was a mistake to trust her. And we don't have much use for a woman with child. Unless…" He gave the military men a hard stare as he sneered, "Is she one of your mates? How about I bring her in here and kill her first?"

Immediately understanding why he hadn't been able to get Missy back through their link, Everett surged forward and slammed his fingers hard into Dannic's throat. "You bastard!" Choking, Dannic stumbled back while clutching at his throat and Young pushed him to the floor. The other Alliance soldiers leapt forward, some to train their weapons on the Earth crew and keep them on their knees while the others grabbed at Young who was trying to strangle Dannic. Eventually, they hauled him up and drug him back as he continued to struggle. "You son of a ….!"

Dannic scrambled to his feet and stormed towards the struggling colonel. "I want him dead, but first he is going to watch me kill his mate and rip his unborn child from her body."

Spitting out incoherent insults, Young was pulled back to the other Earth soldiers as Varro grabbed Dannic and shoved him backwards. "Listen to me! Listen to me!" He pushed Dannic out into the corridor and spoke more quietly. "We need their cooperation. We can use the communication stones to get a team of doctors on board."

"We can't spare the men."

"We can use some of them." He gestured to the group from Earth. "It doesn't matter what they report back. There's nothing anyone on Earth can do about this."

Dannic glared back into the room at Young who had a murderous expression on his face and who was still struggling against the men holding him. Finally, he nodded to Varro. "All right. But if Kiva dies, they all die." He motioned to Young. "I want him put by himself."

"That's fine." He ordered the men, "Put him in the room near the Gate Room." They nodded and hauled Everett out of the room. Turning back to Dannic, he told him, "I'm going to get some civilians to use the stones. Go check with Simeon and Ginn."

"Okay." They headed in different directions leaving men to guard the outside of the Mess.

Walking to where the civilians were, Varro arrived there and entered the room. Camille Wray stood up and went to him. "What do you want?"

Varro replied, "We need four of you to use the stones so we can get doctors from Earth to work on our men who have been hurt." He pointed to where some people were trying to comfort a weeping Missy. "What's wrong with her?"

Lisa Park, who had come over to them, said, "Why wouldn't she be upset? You just killed her husband. And what exactly are you planning to do with the rest of us?"

"Don't know yet. It depends on what happens with our commander who was shot." Varro gazed over at Melissa for a long moment trying to decide if telling her Young wasn't dead was a good idea. He finally decided he couldn't be that heartless and walked over to the group. Touching Missy's shoulder gently, he said, "Mrs. Young," and waited until she looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Yes," said Missy in a quiet voice.

"Your husband is not dead." He raised his voice so the whole group could hear. "None of them are dead—at least not yet." A look of astonished joy came over Missy's face, and she nodded at him in thanks. Varro then pointed at Camille, Lisa, Dale Volker, and another civilian. "Come with me, please." The people he had indicated got up and left with him and the other Alliance soldier.

Once they had left, Linda hugged Missy and said, "I'm so happy for you, Melissa. I hope everyone stays safe."

"Me too," said Melissa whose smile reached from ear to ear. Linda walked off to talk with someone else leaving Melissa alone at the table. She decided to see if she could reach Ev through their empathic link. Opening her mind, she felt his relief almost immediately. "I just found out you were okay, sweetheart. They told me you were dead."

"I know, baby. I know." Everett stood up from the small cot he had been sitting on. "They put me by myself. Dannic doesn't trust me not to go after him now."

Missy softly chuckled in her mind. "And I wonder why that is. Any idea what they're going to do with us?"

"It depends on what happens to their commander who was shot. Listen, honey, I know why you closed your mind before, but keep it open now, okay?"

"I will. I was just afraid before—afraid that if I tried, nothing would be there. I couldn't have handled it."

"I know. I'm gonna do this again until…" He sent her the mental picture of them holding each other. "We're together for real. And then I'm not letting go of you anymore. How are you feeling?"

"The contractions have eased off, but they're still kicking. Maybe when we're together again, you can do your magic."

"I will." They continued to talk with each other through their link.

Meanwhile, Varro had taken the others to the Communications Room. When they were sitting around the table, he told them, "Remember, the lives of your shipmates depend on how well this goes. Tell them that back on Earth too."

"I understand," said Camille who dropped a communication stone onto the activation box. She was back ten minutes later after having told the people on Earth what they needed.

The four Destiny crew members each dropped a communication stone onto the activation box while Varro watched. He waited for the transfer to take place and then addressed the people sitting at the table. "Who are you?"

The woman who had taken over Camille's body was the only one who had been to Destiny before. She looked at Varro. "I'm Dr. Brightman." She indicated the others. "This is Dr. Ziegler, Dr. Finch, and Dr. Tannen."

"All right. Follow me." They stood up, and he took them to the infirmary. Once they got there, the doctors quickly familiarized themselves with what they had available to them and began working on their patients. About thirty minutes later, Varro returned as David Telford's unconscious body was carried out of the operating room where Dr. Brightman had just finished surgery on him. "Is he gonna make it?"

Brightman replied, "Yeah, he'll be fine. The bullet passed clean through."

"Let me know when he wakes up. I want to talk with him."

"All right." She gazed at him hesitantly. "Listen, your commander wasn't so lucky. Dr. Finch is working on her right now, but it isn't looking good. We think the bullet may have lodged in her liver."

"It would be in everyone's best interest if she survived."

"Yeah, I get that."

Varro looked across to where TJ was lying unconscious with an air mask over her face. "What about Lieutenant Johansen?"

"Well, we've managed to stop the bleeding. The wound itself wasn't bad, but she hit her head when she hit the floor. It caused a concussion, and we also discovered that she's pregnant. It will probably take a while for her to wake up."

A look of consternation came across his face. "Pregnant?"

"Yes. It's very early. It's possible she doesn't know."

"Okay, what else?"

"I know you said you wanted your people treated, but I was asked by my superiors to ask about a member of the Destiny crew who is important to several members of my government."

"Oh really, who is it?"

"Her name is Dr. Melissa Young, and she's very close to giving birth. We have an obstetrician, that's a doctor for pregnant women, on standby. I can make arrangements for the doctor to come if you will let us see her."

Shaking his head, Varro replied, "Not yet. Finish with our men and Lieutenant Johansen first. I have seen Dr. Young though, and she seemed fine at the time."

Brightman nodded. "I understand. Excuse me." She moved away to look for her next patient.

Varro watched her for a moment and then left the infirmary intending to go back to the Control Room. When he arrived, there were several Alliance members working at consoles. "Report!"

A woman, whose name was Ginn, turned to him. "The countdown clock has started again. It's probably a result of the adjustments made to the shield.

"How long until we jump?"

"About an hour or so."

They heard a voice come over the radio. "Varro, this is Dr. Brightman."

He picked the radio up and spoke into it. "Go ahead."

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but we did all we could. It just wasn't enough. Your commander is dead."

A set expression came over Varro's face and the others that were in the room. "Understood." Once he shut the radio off, he faced the other Alliance members. "What should we do now?"

"We need to kill them all!" exclaimed Dannic.

"The original plan was to keep some of the scientists and drop the rest on a habitable planet."

Another man, whose name was Simeon, spoke up. "The original plan didn't involve Kiva being killed. "

"I admit, it may have been optimistic to expect any of them to work with us, but going on a bloody rampage now isn't going to solve anything."

"You got another idea?"

Varro looked at Ginn. "Tell them."

Motioning to her console, Ginn replied, "We found one address we can dial from this position. It's currently locked out probably because it's at the extreme range of the gate, but I can get around that."

"We check it out. If it's viable, we send them—everyone except the doctors. They're still working on some of our men. And Lieutenant Johansen." The other men gazed at him knowingly as if they knew why he wanted to keep the last person. He glared back at them defensively. "She could prove to be useful down the road."

"What about Rush and the others that are still missing?" asked Simeon.

"Search parties will find them. Let me know, Ginn, when you have the information, and I'll send guards to have them gather their personal belongings and some supplies."

Ginn replied, "Understood, Sir."

He left to go check-in with the search teams. About fifteen minutes later, he received the information that the planet was viable and went to instruct the guards of the Destiny crew to start gathering everyone together and allowing them to gather some supplies. After he talked to the guards of the civilians, he went over to where Melissa had just been helped out of the chair she had been sitting in. "Dr. Young, will you come with us please? Your friends can get anything you or your baby might need."

Raising her eyebrows, Missy asked, "Why?"

Varro held up his hands. "We will not hurt you or your baby. I promise. We are going to take you to your husband."

"Oh, okay."

She told her friends she would see them in a little while and walked off with the two men. They went towards the Gate Room turning to a smaller corridor before they got there. Varro stopped at a door and said to the other man, "Keep her out here until I call you." He walked in and greeted Everett. "Hello, Colonel."

Ev nodded in greeting. "What's going on?"

"We've found a planet with a breathable atmosphere. We're putting you and your people off the ship."

"There's no way you've had enough time to determine long-term viability."

"There are not a lot of options here."

Thinking of his wife and the babies they were going to have, Everett shook his head. "It's a death sentence."

"Not necessarily." He paced past Young who eyed the pistol hanging from a belt around his waist. Varro noticed his gaze and raised his eyebrows. "Now you're thinking you've got nothing to lose. You could jump me, take my gun and kill the guard outside. But how far do you really think you'd get?" You'd be shot, and your people would still be sent to the planet, only without their leader. For their sake and the sake of two others, I recommend you stay alive." He went to the door and told the other man, "Let her come in."

Missy cautiously stepped inside, but when she saw Ev, her eyes lit up and she smiled with joy and relief. "Everett."

Smiling at his wife with the same joy and relief, he opened his arms, and she walked into them. "Melissa, you're okay." He gently kissed her forehead and touched her belly. "Did you take care of Mama, munchkins?"

"They did. Ev, he says they found a planet. He's already got people gathering their things."

Everett glanced back over at Varro. "Well, I guess you were just coming to tell me what you were going to do."

The other man nodded. "This is your best option. Would you prefer what Dannic wants? He would see you dead and then your wife would be a widow and your…" He motioned to Missy, "Did I understand her correctly? Children would be fatherless."

He stared at Varro for a long moment until Missy touched his arm. "It's a chance, Everett. That's all I want. A chance for the four of us to survive. And we're together. Two hours ago I thought you were dead. You don't know what kind of hole that left in me." She hugged him close to her.

Impressed with her courage, he hugged her back and said, "You're right, of course-about all of it. Let's do this."

"Thank you," said Varro. "An escort will come and get you when your crew is ready." He looked at Melissa. "And you may stay. Listen, I had a question."

"What's that?" asked Missy.

"When the doctors came via the stones, one of them said a member of your government asked about you. Would you like to send a message?"

Responding to Ev's curious gaze, Missy said, "That was probably Jack." Then she turned to Varro. "Please have them tell General O'Neill that I'm okay and tell him to tell my sisters that I miss them and that I love them." A few tears fell down her face as she realized she would never see any of them again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Varro left to check in with the Control Room.

Once he had left, Everett turned Missy to him and gently caressed her face. "Are you okay baby?"

"Yes." She kissed his lips. "I meant what I said all those months ago. I don't care where we are as long as we're together."

He motioned for her to sit down on the bed. "You have so much faith in me, Missy. Sometimes I don't know if I deserve it."

Softly stroking his cheek, she told him, "I have faith in us." She pointed to her forehead. "Can you feel it in here?"

Everett opened his mind to hers and nodded. "Oh yes."

They continued to talk while they waited for someone to come back. About thirty minutes later, there was a knock at the door. A Lucian Alliance soldier opened it and told them, "Time to go."

Everett nodded and offered a hand to Melissa to help her up. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, I am." She took his hand, and they left the room. When they got to the Gate Room, they saw that it was full of soldiers watching the last of the Destiny crew go through an active stargate. Missy noticed several of the men ogling her and could feel Ev's hand tightening on hers. She whispered to him, "Everett, it's not worth it."

"You're right." He offered her his arm which she took. "Are you ready to walk to our future, honey?"

"I'll go anywhere with you, Ev." They walked up to the event horizon and stopped for a moment. "I am scared about going through the gate right now though."

"I know." He turned back for one last look at the ship meeting Dannic's challenging look with one of his own. Once he had done that, he turned back to his wife and warmly smiled at her, hoping that the optimism he was showing would translate to a positive outcome. "Just hold my arm baby. I've gotcha."


	7. Chapter 7

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 7

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Here's another chapter for you. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

They stepped through the gate to a bleak world barren of vegetation. The first thing Missy noticed was how cold it was, and she gasped and started shivering. Everett turned to her and said, "What is it, Missy? What's wrong?"

Her teeth chattering, Melissa replied, "I'm cold, Ev. It's okay."

He nodded and anchored his arm tightly around her waist as they went to meet their friends. Mac walked up to them with a relieved smile on his face. "Sir, Melissa, glad you made it." He motioned to the man and woman with him. "I've had James and Peterson doing a head count. With the two of you, we have sixty-two here. And I sent Baker, Carter, Reynolds, and Harper on recon that way." He pointed to a small ridge to the north. "I didn't like the way that sky was looking and thought finding shelter would be most important since it looks like a storm is coming."

Everett clapped him on the back. "Excellent work, Lieutenant." He gazed at the people who had gathered around them. "What do we have in the way of supplies?"

"Well, we did pretty well. We have food for a couple of days, blankets, and some medical supplies. We will need to find water."

Pointing to Melissa, Everett said, "Can we break one of those blankets out for Missy?"

A voice came from behind them. It was Linda Wilson who said, "I can do you one better, Colonel." She put a thick military jacket over Missy's shoulders.

Melissa put on the jacket gratefully and turned to her friend. "What's this, Linda?"

"Lieutenant McDonald and I found a box of these in the supply room on the ship. There were ten of them."

"Oh, I can't take…"

Linda gave her an admonishing look. "Oh yes, you can. Let me continue. We gave eight of them to the injured and the people with the thinnest clothing. And then everyone voted—decided that the other two should go to the pregnant mamas. Don't fight me on this, Melissa. You have never asked for anything for yourself. I remember the first time I saw you in the Mess. Of course, I knew who you were—the Colonel's fiancée and one of the scientists. I was astonished to see you taking Mess duty. You had a warm smile for everyone, and you didn't consider any duty beneath you." She motioned to the others around her who were all nodding. "We want to do this for you and for your children."

Swiping at the tears that had come down her cheek, Missy smiled and said, "You've made me cry, Linda. Thank you."

"Yes, thank you," said Everett. "What are we doing about the injured? I hate that we don't have TJ with us."

Lieutenant James spoke up. "You've got me and Schulz, Sir. TJ's been giving us medic training, and we'll be able to deliver the babies too." She motioned to Melissa.

"Wonderful. So, about the injured?"

"Yes. Riley and Colson have the most serious injuries—both have head wounds. I've got them wrapped up in blankets. TJ had stitched them up before she was shot. Colson's stitching is fine, but Riley's has come open again. I've got him applying pressure to it."

"Good." He and Missy walked over to the two soldiers who smiled in greeting. "Hey, Sergeant, Lieutenant, how are you feeling?"

Riley replied, "I'll be all right, Sir."

"Me too," said Colson. She gazed at Melissa. "How are you feeling, Melissa?"

"I'm okay, Marla," said Missy. She glanced at the spark of lightning that flashed across the sky. "We really need to find shelter, Everett."

Ev said, "Yes, we do. Let's hope the recon team gets back soon." The group huddled together to protect themselves from the cold and the wind.

About fifteen minutes later, Everett heard a voice from a nearby ridge. He turned and saw that it was Sergeant Harper who yelled, "Colonel! We found a system of small caves just over that ridge about five clicks from here. It should be enough to shelter everyone if we break into smaller groups."

Just then, two large cracks of thunder were heard by the group as lightning flashed nearby. When one of the bolts of lightning struck the ground not far from the group, everyone jumped. Realizing they needed to move, Ev replied to Harper, "That's good enough!" He helped Melissa up and then saw the stargate begin to spin. "Guys, guys, back up."

Everyone stood up and backed away from the gate. Moments later, it kawooshed and Varro, Koz, and four other Lucian Alliance soldiers came through. As the gate shut down behind them, they walked down the ramp, and Varro headed straight for Young. "Dannic took control. These men were loyal to me."

Ev shook his head disgustedly. "Had your own little coup on the ship, did you?" He motioned to the barren landscape around them. "Not quite the idyllic paradise you painted, is it? I'm not interested in your problems. I need to get my wife and my people to safety." He turned his back on the Alliance man and yelled out, "All right, people, listen up! We're gonna move out!" He pointed to the ridge. "Go to where Sergeant Harper and Sergeant Reynolds are. Most important, stay together! Let's go!"

The injured were helped to their feet, and the group started to move in the direction of the ridge. Another lightning bolt sizzled down from the sky and hit the ground as Ev and Missy moved to follow them. Varro called to him again. "Colonel!"

"I've nothing else to say to you."

Missy looked at him, shocked. "Everett."

Her husband gave her a reproving look. "No, Missy. I worry about you and our babies first now, and our crew—not them."

Varro angrily interrupted, "We're here because I stood up for you! He would have killed you all!"

Everett gave him a challenging stare for a long moment and then offered Missy his arm—the two of them moving off to follow their group. They walked steadily up the hill until they reached where Harper and Reynolds were. Harper, who had been pointing people in the direction of the caves, addressed him. "Sir, they look pretty secure, and there's a water source about half a click away. We can send people to check it out once the storm is over."

"Good job, Sergeant," said Ev. He turned to Mac who had been walking with them. "Can you guys make sure people are sorted out once we get there? I want to make sure Missy gets up this next hill okay."

"Sure," said Mac. He pointed to the Lucian Alliance men. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Oh, I think we will, considering I will wring their necks if they try anything." He motioned to where Riley and Colson were walking just ahead of them. "Make sure they have someone to help them if they need it."

"Understood, Sir."

The others moved ahead of them, and Melissa and Everett continued to walk towards the caves with the Lucian Alliance soldiers behind them. As they walked, Missy pointed to the landscape in the distance. "I bet this is pretty when it's springtime."

Ev looked at where she was pointing. "Right now, I'm wondering if this planet even has a spring." He noticed her stop and clutch her abdomen like she was in pain. "Are you okay, Missy?"

Melissa waited until her breathing evened out and then replied to his question. "Braxton-Hicks again. I just want to sit. Are we almost there?"

"Yes, just a little bit more." He anchored his arm tightly around her waist, and they started slowly walking up the final hill.

Half-way up, Missy felt a gush of fluid come from her and a sharp stabbing pain in her abdomen. "Everett, my water just broke. I think I'm in labor."

Her husband turned to her and saw the look of abject terror on her face as she collapsed in his arms. "Oh God, no!"

He gazed up the hill and was about to call someone to help him when he heard a voice behind him. It was Varro who said, "Would you like some help, Colonel?"

After waiting for a long moment, Ev was about to respond when Missy said, "No more posturing, Ev. You can't carry me by yourself."

Everett clenched his teeth, but then, realizing that she was right, said to Varro, "Yes, please."

The other man nodded and motioned to two of his men who came around Melissa. They and Ev picked her up and began walking up the hill quickly with Ev saying, "Make a hole. Missy's in labor. Make a hole."

A few moments later, they reached the top and walked up to where Mac, Harper, Reynolds, and Baker were sorting out where people were going to take shelter. Mac looked at them in astonishment and asked, "What's wrong, Sir?"

"Missy's water broke. I think she's in labor. Where can we put her?"

Mac hastily directed them to the cave where Linda Wilson had gone. The older woman took one look at them and motioned to the back of the cave. She pulled a blanket out of the bag she had been carrying and placed it on the ground. The guys placed Missy on it, and Linda bent down beside her. "What happened, Melissa?"

Melissa gasped out, "My water broke, Linda. I'm in labor."

Taking a good look at her, Linda nodded. 'Yes, you are." She turned to Everett. "She's probably been in labor for the last day. The babies have already dropped. You need to go get Vanessa and Jessie. Now!"

"What!" exclaimed Everett? "Aww, crap!" He ran out of the cave, and they could hear him yelling, "James! Schulz! Front and center now!"

The three of them ran back in the cave and stared at Missy for a long moment. She went through another contraction and then gazed up at them. Through gritted teeth, she said, "These babies are gonna come whether you do anything or not. I would much prefer you DO SOMETHING!"

That broke the group out of their reverie and James started giving directions. "Schulz, go get the medical bag." The other woman ran out of the cave. Then James looked back at Melissa. "You need to strip from your waist down."

"Yeah, I figured that." Missy started to tug at her pants and noticed that Varro and his men were still in the cave. She looked over at her husband. "Everett."

Ev saw where her gaze had gone and nodded. Walking up to Varro, he said, "I really appreciate your help. I'm gonna take you to Lieutenant McDonald, and he'll sort out a cave for you and your men."

Varro said, "That's fine, Colonel." He glanced at Missy. "Good luck, Dr. Young."

"Thank you," said Missy.

The Lucian Alliance men left with Everett, and Missy finished getting ready for the labor and birth. When her husband returned, she told him, motioning to Vanessa, "Lieutenant James just finished examining me. She said things look really good."

Everett's eyes lit up. "Great!" He saw her go through another contraction. "I'm guessing though that we don't have any pain meds."

"No, Sir," said Vanessa. "We do have a way to cut the cords though, and we have disinfectant. And Linda here went by your quarters and picked up the outfits Dr. Park made. And…" She motioned to the blankets. "We have blankets to wrap them up in. There's one other thing." She pointed to where Melissa was sitting up and using her hands to prop herself up. "It would be useful if she had something to push against when it was time without her having to support herself."

Tenderly smiling at his wife, Ev replied, "I was planning to get in behind her. Will that work?"

"That will be perfect, Sir," said Jessie who was pulling things out of the medical bag.

"Okay." He turned to Melissa. "Baby, let me make sure Mac and his crew have things in hand and then I will be back for the duration."

Missy nodded as she said, in a breathless voice, "That's fine, but you'd better hurry."

"All right." He hurried outside and found Mac with Lieutenant Peterson. "Hi Mac. I just wanted to let you know you're in charge while I'm with Missy. Make sure you keep checking in with the different groups and especially with Riley and Colson. If there's any change, let me know, and I'll send Schulz to help you."

"You got it, Sir," said Mac. He motioned to the rain that had just started. "We should be able to send teams out when the storm is over."

"Sounds good."

"Listen, Sir. You tell Melissa we're with her. I was just thinking. There's no one else from our core group here. We don't even know what happened to them." A sad expression came over his face. "You know TJ and I got together, right?"

"Yeah, I did."

"When Riley and Harper told me she'd been shot, I felt like I'd been sucker punched. I tried to get Varro to let me see her after they took you away from where we were, but he said no—said she was in surgery. From how he was acting, I thought he was more interested in having her for himself."

Everett put his hand on Mac's shoulder in support. "I know it's very small consolation, but at least he's here and not on the ship."

At that moment, they heard a scream and a voice. "Everett Young, you best get your ass back in here! Now!"

Her husband chuckled and said good-bye to Mac. Hurrying back into the cave, he went to where Melissa was. "Sorry about that, baby. Are you doing okay?" He sat down behind her and cradled her in his arms.

Missy wearily leaned against him. "Yeah, I'm okay. It just hurts. I'm trying to push two bowling balls out. Aaargh." She panted through another contraction.

Gently touching her swollen belly, Ev said, "All right guys. I know you want to come out, but can you please try and make it as easy for Mama as you can?"

After he said that, both of them felt their minds being touched and then found themselves in their empathic link. Melissa gazed at her husband and asked, "What in the world?"

Another voice came from behind them. "You asked for help, and we were given permission to give it to you."

They turned around and saw a boy and a girl who appeared to be about six or seven years old. They both had brown hair, brown eyes, and wore identical impish grins. Missy's eyes widened, and she nudged Ev. "Everett, that's our son and daughter."

The girl spoke up. "That's right, Mama. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Because of that, we were given permission to help Daddy remember."

"Remember what?" asked Ev with a curious look on his face.

Reaching out his hand, the boy touched Ev's hand and said, "This….."

Everett's mind spun back to a memory from his earliest years. He had just walked in from school and was trying to see who was home. He heard a low moan and voices from a back bedroom. Going to the door where he heard the sounds, he put his hand on the doorknob hearing his mother's voice say, "Katherine, you almost have it."

When he opened the door, he saw a woman lying on the bed, and he stared at the scene in fascination. The woman moaned again. "But it hurts, Bethany."

One of the men in the room spoke up. "I've got it," and began briskly rubbing her hips.

"Oh, that feels better. Thank you, Charles. I want to push again."

The other woman, whose name was Bethany, said, "Go ahead, Katherine. I can see the head."

Katherine pushed one more time, and Everett saw a baby come out into his mother's hands and start to cry. Bethany lifted the baby up to show the new mother. "Katherine, you have a little girl." She cleaned her up and handed her to Katherine.

At that moment, the other man noticed that Ev had come into the room and asked, "Everett, what are you doing here?"

Thinking he was going to get in trouble, the little boy started to stammer out an answer, but then his mother smiled and told his father, "Thomas, don't scare the poor boy. It's all right." She looked at her son. "Everett, these are our friends Mr. and Mrs. Allen, and Mrs. Allen just had a baby. Would you like to see?"

"Sure," said Everett. He walked over to the bed and stood next to Katherine. She folded back the blanket, and he could see the baby open her eyes. Noticing that they were big and blue, he said, "Wow! She's beautiful!"

Katherine smiled. "I'm glad you think so, Everett. Would you like to hold her?"

He eagerly nodded, and his mother helped him sit on the bed and support the baby's head after her mother handed her to him. She yawned and grabbed his finger leading him to say, "She likes me. What are you going to name her?"

"We're going to name her Melissa."

Everett then came out of the memory and back into the link. He stared at his wife with a look of utter joy on his face. "I saw you when you were first born. Wow!"

The boy said, "That's right. Do you know what to do for Mama now?"

"I do. Thank you."

"Yes, thank you," said Missy. "Will we see you soon?"

"Oh yes," said the girl. "You are very close, Mama. And everything will be okay. There might be some time when you think it won't be, but it will. We love you, Mama. We love you, Daddy."

After saying the same thing back to the children and seeing them disappear, their minds returned to where Missy was laboring in the cave. The pain of another contraction washed over her, and she leaned forward trying to ease it and gasping for breath. When she leaned back, she felt Ev's hands on her hip bones massaging them. He whispered in her ear, "How's that baby?"

The relief Melissa felt was palpable. "That wonderful, sweetheart. Thank you." She gazed at Vanessa and Jessie. "How's everything looking?"

Vanessa replied, with a warm smile, "Looking good. Let me know when you want to push, and I'll check and see where the first head is. It looks like you won't have any problems delivering them."

"Good." She panted through another contraction and continued to have them over the next few hours with Everett doing what he could to ease her pain. At one point, she started feeling the urge to push and told them, "I'm ready to push."

Nodding, the lieutenant looked between her legs and put her hand where she thought the head would be. "Melissa, I can feel the first head. Start pushing."

The other woman started pushing with her husband and friends all encouraging her. It didn't seem to take any time at all before the first of Missy's children entered the world. When the baby's cries were heard, a general round of applause was started with the people in the cave crowding as close as they could so they could see. Vanessa handed the baby to Jessie so she could clean her off. Once she had done that, she held the baby up so the new parents could see. "Melissa, Sir, here's your daughter. She's beautiful."

Everett reached out and caressed his daughter's face noticing the tuft of brown hair and the big brown eyes. "She is beautiful." He hugged his wife from behind. "You did so good, honey."

"Thank you," said Missy. Another contraction wracked her body. "Aaargh! Her brother wants to come out!"

Hastily looking back between Missy's legs, Vanessa told her, "I see his head, Melissa. One more good push should do it."

Melissa nodded and pushed as hard as she could. "Aaargh!" The cries of another baby were heard in the cave. Vanessa handed him to Jessie so she could clean him up while she finished doing what she needed to do for Melissa. Once she was done with that, Linda, who had been holding the little girl, and Jessie handed the babies to their parents to hold. Linda said, "Have you two settled on names yet?"

The new father, who had been staring down at his daughter in wonderment, looked back up and smiled softly at his wife. "I think, for this one, we had decided on Katherine Tamara; Katie for short." He gazed at Missy. "Isn't that right, baby?"

"Yes, it is," replied Melissa.

"Oh that's pretty," said Vanessa.

Jessie spoke up. "I like it too."

Linda glanced at Missy who was holding her son. "What about that one, Melissa?"

"Well," said Missy, looking at her husband hesitantly.

Ev leaned forward and kissed his wife's forehead. "Whatever you want, honey."

"Okay." She addressed the group. "I thought, in memory of the two men who saved our lives, I would name him Matthew Ronald Young." Melissa looked at Everett. "Is that okay with you, sweetheart?"

The group started clapping in approval as a few tears fell down Everett's face. "Yes, that is very much okay with me, Missy. I love you."

"I love you too."


	8. Chapter 8

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 8

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. You get another chapter today. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Linda smiled at the new parents. "I like both of those names." She gazed at the people around them. "All right, let's give the new parents some privacy." Everyone returned to where they had been sitting. The older woman then looked at Ev. "Would you like me to go tell Lieutenant McDonald that the babies are here? I know the people in the other caves are gonna want to see them too."

The Colonel responded, "That would be great, Ms. Wilson. Thank you. And I really appreciate everything you did to help too."

Nodding in response, Linda stood up and put her hands on her hips. "You know, Colonel, if you really wanted to thank me, you would call me Linda like I have asked you to do for the last two months."

Ev softly chuckled. "All right, Linda. As long as you call me Everett. Besides, we're in a whole new reality now. Things don't need to be formal between us—especially since you're gonna be Grandma." He pointed to the babies. "That is, if you want to be."

Tears came down Linda's face, and she saw where Missy was nodding in agreement. "That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. I don't mind being called Grandma at all."

"Great!"

"I'll be right back." She went to the entrance to the cave where she found Mac. "You've probably already heard the two newest members of our group. I was sent to tell you that the new parents would like to see you."

Gazing at the other officers who were with him, Mac said, "Thanks for letting me know, ma'am. Okay, who did we decide would come back with me first?"

Lieutenant Peterson replied, "I think it was Reynolds and Baker. Also, while you're back there, find out what the Colonel wants to do about sending people down to that water source now that the storm is over."

"You got it." Mac and the others walked into the cave and made their way to the back of it where they found Melissa and Everett sitting next to each other holding their children. "Hello, Sir, Melissa. Congratulations."

"Hi Mac," said Missy with a warm smile. "Thank you."

The others congratulated them too as Ev spoke up. "Thank you. How are things going out there?"

Mac replied, "Going well, Sir. The storm is over, and I've had several people inquire about going down to the lake, and I think the people in the other caves would like to see the babies too."

"We do need to get water up here." He motioned to Melissa. "How long do you think it is until nightfall?"

"Several hours, Sir, and the lake's not far."

"Ok, go ahead and get a group together and send them that way. And we can let people come in here too and take a peek at the babies. We'll probably be in here for a while so I want to make sure Missy gets as much rest as she can." He smiled softly at his wife.

"Yes, Sir." Mac and the others headed out of the cave with Mac making the team assignments, and Sergeants Reynolds and Baker starting the process of directing people inside the cave where Everett, Missy, and the children were. They spent the next hour visiting with their friends and letting them see the babies. By the time Mac came back, Ev could see that Missy was starting to tire and told the last group that they would let people see the babies again the following day. Mac, who had an excited look on his face, came and sat down next to them. "Guess what, Sir. The water's perfectly safe." He handed Ev a full canteen.

"Really? That's great." He took a sip and then handed it to his wife. "There you go, honey." He looked back over at Mac. "How much did you get?"

"About twenty canteens full. I've sent another team back for more. But it won't be a problem to resupply. It was very easy to walk down there."

"Cool!" Everett gazed at his wife who still had the canteen propped up next to her. "Why haven't you started drinking that yet?"

Melissa looked up from where she was holding her son and noticed where the canteen was. "Why am I getting this first?"

Shaking their heads, the men both chuckled. "Because you need to drink so you can feed the babies. Listen Missy, you just gave birth to twins. People are gonna be doing for you for a while. You need to get used to it."

Softly smiling at her husband, Missy said, "All right." She opened the canteen and drank from it. "I was thirsty. Thank you. I'm also tired." She gave her husband a concerned look. "How are we gonna sleep with the babies now? I keep seeing that cradle Sergeant Reynolds made for us in our room on the ship."

"Don't worry about it." He handed Katie to Mac. "I thought I'd go outside and take a look around, and I'll take Katie with me. You can lie down." He helped her lie on the blanket. "And either put Matthew on your chest or right beside you. When I come back, I'll do the same thing with Katie. They'll be fine."

"I think I want him beside me." Missy stroked Matthew's cheek and then gazed at her husband. "Matthew seems awfully small to me. Do you think he's gonna be okay?"

Ev leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Honey, you're small. Matthew will be fine. I'll be back in a few." He stood up and took Katie from Mac who also stood up.

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too." After he looked over at Linda, mouthed the words 'Watch them please,' and received a responding nod, he and Mac walked to the front of the cave. He carefully observed the terrain leading up to where they had taken shelter. "It looks like this will be an easy place to defend."

Mac replied, "Yeah, just that one approach." He pointed to the hill they had climbed to get there. "The lake is to the right after you reach that turn-off."

"That will be easy." He gazed at his daughter and lovingly caressed her face before looking back up at Mac. "I can't believe they're here."

"I know what you mean, Sir. Listen…" He motioned back to the cave. "I did notice that Matthew seemed to be small compared to the one you're holding."

"Me too. I was hoping Missy hadn't noticed. Anyway, I'm gonna talk to Lieutenant James and see if she has any suggestions, but I'm thinking our best bet is gonna be getting plenty of water into Missy and getting her to start nursing as soon as possible. Where did you put the supplies?"

They walked over to the next cave. "Here, Sir." Mac motioned to Sergeant Baker and Sergeant Reynolds. "They're gonna come around to the other caves when they're done with this one."

"Great," replied Everett. He spoke to Baker. "Could I get a couple of ration bars for me and Missy?"

"Sure, Sir," said Lindsay with a warm smile. She handed him the bars and then motioned to the baby. "She is a cutie-pie. That is Katie, right?"

"Yes, it is. Thank you."

The two officers then went to the other caves speaking to everyone and making sure things were okay with the shelters. As they were going back to the cave where Melissa and Matthew were, Ev heard an urgent voice. It was Linda who said, "Everett, come here. Something's wrong." They ran to the back of the cave where Missy was trying to comfort a fretful Matthew. "He started crying a few minutes ago, and he feels warm to the touch."

Missy interrupted, with tears coming down her face, "I tried to nurse him, Ev, but he didn't want it. What should I do?"

Mac touched Ev's shoulder. "Let me go get James and Schulz." He got up and hurried out of the cave as Ev sat down next to his wife.

Once he had handed Katie to Linda, he put his arm around Missy and used his other hand to stroke his son's forehead. "He does feel warm." He spoke directly to the baby. "What's wrong, little buddy? You don't feel good?" At that moment, the two women who had delivered the babies arrived at the back of the cave. Everett leaned the baby over so Lieutenant James could feel his forehead. "I think he's running a temperature."

Vanessa nodded. "He is, Sir." She gazed at Melissa. "Have you tried to feed him?"

"Yes," replied Missy. She pointed at her breasts where they could see wet spots. "I've got plenty, but he didn't want it."

"Okay, let's make sure it's not a problem with you." She motioned for Missy to give Matthew to Everett and for her to take Katie from Linda. "See if Katie will take it." Missy nodded and put her daughter up to her breast. A moment later, the child was sucking hungrily. "Nope, not you. Hmm." Vanessa thought for a moment and then glanced at Jessie. "Do you have any ideas, Airman?"

The other woman observed both babies for a moment and then snapped her fingers. "Maybe he just doesn't know how." She glanced at the Colonel. "Sir, I know this will be tricky, but maybe you can let him watch his sister for a minute and then balance him at Melissa's other breast."

Intrigued, Ev said, "All right." He faced Matthew so he could see what his sister was doing. After a moment, he balanced him at the other breast telling him, "Time for dinner, Matthew." The baby sucked for about a minute and then started crying again. Everett rocked him gently trying to soothe him. "It's okay, buddy. It's okay." He looked at Vanessa and Jessie helplessly. "I don't know what else to do."

"God, I don't know either, Sir," said James. She instructed Jessie, "Go soak one of those cloths in water. Maybe that will help bring down his fever."

Jessie nodded and hurried off coming back a minute later with a wet washcloth. She gave it to the Colonel, and he laid it on the baby's forehead. Noticing that the baby's cries had slowed to whimpers, she remarked, "Maybe that will help, Sir."

"I hope so," said Ev. "Go make sure the injured are okay before it gets dark. We'll call you if we need you."

"All right." The two women left the cave to check in with the people in the other caves.

Mac also left Everett and Missy telling him he would check in with them in a little while. Once he had left, Ev noticed that his wife had finished feeding Katie and that the baby had fallen asleep in the crook of her arm. He moved next to her; Matthew whimpering slightly in his arms. "How's she doing, honey?" He pointed to the baby.

"She's okay," said Missy. "Caught onto breastfeeding pretty well." She reached over and caressed Matthew's face before looking back at her husband. "Everett, I'm scared. I don't want to lose either of them." A tear fell down her face.

Ev wiped the tear away before he responded. "I know. Me too." He shrugged his shoulders. "If I had one wish…"

"If you had one wish what?"

"If I had one wish, it would be that when Icarus happened, you would have made it back to Earth. Then the three of you would be okay now, and you would be healthy." Tears started coming down his face.

Missy leaned over and tenderly kissed his lips. "But we would be missing something very important." She continued, after seeing his inquisitive look, "You, silly. I've loved you for so long, Ev. I can't imagine having given birth to these children without you." She leaned against him wearily. "Is it okay if I rest?"

"Of course it is, baby." He helped her lie down next to him with Katie curled up next to her. "I'll watch over the three of you, okay?"

Smiling at him gently, Missy said, "All right. Wake me up though if Matthew gets worse."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

Everett watched as his wife's eyes gradually closed and then stroked his son's forehead. "You still feel a little warm, Matthew. Are you sleepy?" Matthew whimpered and stared at his father with his big brown eyes before gradually closing them. Glad to see him finally relax, Ev laid down next to Missy with his son's sleeping body next to his. "Good night, little one, I love you."

They, along with the rest of the group that was in their cave, were able to sleep for several hours. In the middle of the night, Everett was awoken by a baby's crying. He opened his eyes not knowing where he was for a moment, but then remembering everything that had happened including the birth of his children. Seeing Matthew fidgeting next to him, he picked him up trying to soothe him. "It's okay, Matthew. Daddy's here." He saw his wife sit up and put his hand on her shoulder. "I've got him, Missy. Go back to sleep."

"He might be hungry," said Melissa gently smiling at him. "You're pretty amazing, Ev, but I don't think you can do that." She reached for the baby, and as he handed him to her, her hand brushed against Matthew's forehead. "Oh my God, Everett! He's burning up!" Noticing that he was also gasping for breath, she choked out, "He's having trouble breathing too." She started rubbing his back soothingly. "It's okay, Matthew. Mama's here. What do I do?"

Everett gazed at her helplessly until he felt a touch on his back. It was Linda Wilson who said, "I'll go get Vanessa and Jessie." He nodded, and she hurried out of the cave. When the three women came back, Linda reached over and took Katie from Ev. "Let me get her."

"Thank you," said Everett. He turned to Vanessa and motioned to Matthew. "He's burning up, and he's having trouble breathing now. Do you know anything else to do?"

The lieutenant indicated for Jessie to go and soak the cloth in water again, and they placed it on Matthew's forehead once more. It didn't help though, and the baby alternated between crying and gasping for breath even with Ev standing up and walking around with him. Finally, Melissa motioned for him to sit back down, and when he did, she said, with tears coming down her face, "He's suffering, Everett. Can we just hold him and tell him it's okay to go? I don't want him to suffer."

Nodding because he didn't trust himself to speak, Everett put his arm around Missy who was holding Matthew. The group that had gathered around them backed away to give them some privacy with Linda indicating that she would take Katie. She walked to the front of the cave crying. A moment later, Mac came up to the entrance and saw that she had Katie. A knife of cold dread went through his heart as he asked her, "What's happened?"

Linda told him, "Matthew's not gonna make it. They're gonna hold him and tell him it's okay to go." She started crying. "Dammit. I have looked forward to both of these children being born for the last four months. It's not fair."

"No, it's not."

He put his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into it as she cried. They then heard a soft voice from inside the cave. "Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing. Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring." Missy started singing another song as Matthew's cries grew softer. "Rock-a-bye-baby, in the tree top. When the wind blows, the cradle will rock. When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall. And down will come baby, cradle and all." Her voice cracked at the end of the song with the people at the front of the cave hearing anguished sobs begin.

A/N: I know I left you on a cliffhanger here. Don't worry. It will be resolved.


	9. Chapter 9

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 9

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Sergeant Lindsay Baker and Sergeant Mark Reynolds approached Mac and Linda with Lindsay saying, "He's gone, isn't he?" Mark put his arm around Lindsay to comfort her.

Mac nodded solemnly and noticed that the rest of the occupants of the cave were approaching them with various degrees of emotion on their faces. He motioned for them to go outside of the cave where he saw the beginnings of dawn in the sky and the rest of their group coming from the other caves. Indicating for everyone to come around him, he waited until they had done so and then said, "If you did not know, Matthew is no longer with us." Expressions of shock appeared on a few faces as he continued talking, sorrow evident in his voice. "When we came through Destiny's gate from Icarus four months ago, the Colonel and Melissa brought us together; helped us become a crew, a family. They took care of us, did their parts even when…" His voice broke, and a few tears fell down his face. "Even when Melissa probably shouldn't have been on her feet." He saw the members of their group nod in agreement with him. "We have to take care of them now and take care of Katie." He motioned to the baby in Linda's arms. "So, to that end, I will need all of you, except for the injured, to pick a group to volunteer for."

A slim African-American woman who he recognized from working in the Mess with Becker raised her hand. "What did you have in mind, Sir?"

"Well, we need groups to gather water, to find food, to find wood for fires, and to patrol near the stargate."

Voices started to speak up. "I'll do whatever you need me to do, Sir."

"Me too."

"And me."

Mac smiled at them. "I am so proud to be part of this group. Let's get started." He divided the group into teams and gave each team an assignment. As the teams headed off, he noticed the Lucian Alliance men at the back of the crowd. He walked up to them and addressed Varro. "What can I do for you?"

Indicating his men, Varro replied, "We heard what happened, and we want to help." He shook his head sadly. "My mate died in childbirth—the child too. I never dreamed I would be the cause of something like that happening again. Please, let us help."

Looking at him with new respect, Mac pointed towards the west. "I haven't sent anyone in that direction. Why don't you go see if you can find any food or wood for fires?"

"Understood." Varro and his men left to go in that direction.

Mac then turned to Linda. "I was wondering if you would stay here and coordinate what comes back as well as look after the injured and little Katie."

The older woman briskly nodded at him. "Of course, Lieutenant." She pointed towards the cave where they could still hear crying. "Do you think I should check on them?"

He thought for a moment before he replied. "You probably should just let them come to you. Of course, if Katie gets hungry…"

"Okay." Linda walked back towards the caves.

Gazing at the three he had chosen to join him, Mac addressed Baker, Reynolds, and Harper. "Are you ready to see what's going on near the stargate?"

"Yes, Sir," said Harper. The others nodded too, and the four of them walked down the hill heading back towards the stargate.

A few minutes later, Linda had just finished checking on the injured when she heard a sound behind her. It was Everett with raw grief etched on his face. He held out his arms. "I came to get Katie. Missy wanted to see if she was hungry."

Linda handed him the baby. "She was just starting to fidget. I bet she is. Listen, I am so sorry."

Not trusting himself to speak, Ev nodded in appreciation. He then noticed the lack of people in the vicinity. "Where is everyone?"

Lieutenant McDonald's got everyone hunting for what we need. He wanted me to tell you not to worry about a thing. Take care of Melissa and your daughter, and we've got your back."

"Thank you." He walked back over to the cave where Missy was before he could lose what little composure he had left. Going to the back of the cave, he saw his wife, her eyes red-rimmed with tears, holding their son's body. "I've got Katie, baby. Linda thinks she might be hungry."

Melissa nodded and carefully placed Matthew's body on the ground next to her. She held out her arms, and he handed Katie to her. "Are you hungry, munchkin? Mama's got plenty now." She placed her at her breast, and the baby started hungrily sucking. Missy gazed down at her daughter before looking back at her husband who had picked up Matthew's body. With tears in her eyes, she asked, "Did I do something wrong?"

He shook his head fiercely. "You did not. It just happened. It might have even happened on the ship."

Big gulping sobs shook Missy's body. "I can't stop crying, Ev. How am I going to function if I can't stop crying?"

"I'm not far behind you, honey. I'm keeping it together by a thread. I think we have to do it a day, an hour at a time."

"You're right." Everett put his arm around her while she finished breastfeeding and then they continued to hold onto each other as they processed their son's death.

Meanwhile, Mac and the other officers had reached the top of the other hill and were looking at the stargate which was about a mile or so away. Sergeant Harper observed the area carefully before turning back to the others. "Looks just as desolate today as it did yesterday. I think our best bet is the area near the lake and those hills in the opposite direction."

"I do too," said Mac, "But we need to keep an eye on this area in case someone else comes."

"Oh, I agree, Sir," said Reynolds. He looked at the fourth member of their party who was gazing off towards the stargate. "Lindsay, you okay?"

The young woman whose own pregnancy had started to show turned back to them and said, "Yeah, I'm okay, Mark. I was just wondering what happened to the Destiny. You know, if Melissa had given birth in the infirmary, TJ might have been able to save Matthew."

"I know." He put an arm around her in comfort. "And the Destiny has probably gone back into FTL."

Pointing to the gate, Lindsay asked, "Why, then, are the chevrons lighting up?"

"What?" exclaimed Mac. "Give me those binoculars." He grabbed the binoculars that Harper had been holding. Putting them up to his eyes, he adjusted them and said, "You're right."

"What are we going to do?"

"We're just gonna observe from here. See who comes through."

They watched the chevrons finish lighting up and the gate come to life. There was no activity at all, and Mac was about to say something when they heard the radio on his belt come to life. "Colonel Young, this is Dr. Rush. Please come in. Colonel Young, please come in."

The four on the ridge above the stargate looked at each other excitedly as Mac fumbled with the radio. He finally got it turned on and spoke into it. "Dr. Rush, this is Lieutenant McDonald. We're here."

A sigh of relief was heard over the other end of the radio. "Oh, thank God. Lad, we've been trying to raise you for the last six hours. Where's Colonel Young?"

"He and the rest of our group are about five clicks away from here in some caves. I'm with a group that's patrolling near the gate. A lot has happened."

"A lot has happened up here too. We've taken the ship back over from the Lucian Alliance with the help of the Alterans. Your group can come home."

Mute with shock for a moment, Mac didn't say anything. Then, realizing that Rush was waiting for his reply, he spoke once more. "The Alterans are on the ship?"

Dr. Rush chuckled. "Yes, Lieutenant, they are. Their ship is docked with ours. They are very eager to meet the Colonel and the lass."

"Oh wow. I need to let you know what's happened here though. Melissa had the babies yesterday."

"Is she okay? Are the babies okay?"

Mac gazed at his friends mutely before responding in a choked voice. "Melissa's fine; so is Katie; but…but Matthew died about an hour ago. He fought and fought—just like his parents, but he was just too small."

"Oh God." The sounds of cheering Mac had been hearing in the gate room went silent. "Hold on, someone wants to talk to you."

Another voice came over the radio. "Hello, Lieutenant. My name is Gaius Aurelius, commander of the Alteran ship, Caprea. I need to know exactly how long it has been since the baby last drew breath."

The lieutenant looked at his watch. "One hour and ten minutes. Why?"

"We have a window of less than five hours. If we can get the baby back here, we can save him."

An expression of hope came over Mac's face. "What! What do you need me to do?"

"Your Dr. Rush is putting together a team now, and our doctor will come with them. They'll have a stretcher for Dr. Young and the babies. More than likely, she will also need a blood transfusion. I need you to send people to the gate to meet the team—to lead them to where you've taken shelter."

"I'll do it."

"All right. They will see you in a few minutes."

The radio went silent, and Mac gathered the others around him with a determined look on his face. "Ok, fastest mile? Mine is 6:40."

Reynolds said, "Mine is 6:30."

"Mine's 6:25," said Harper.

"Mine's 6:05," said Lindsay. "But I don't think I can run that fast now." She pointed to her stomach.

Mac smiled at her. "That's all right, Sergeant. Okay, this is what I want. Harper, Reynolds, get to the gate as fast as you can. We are on the clock. If I have anything to say about it, the Colonel and Melissa with have two babies to take care of; not one. Baker and I will head back to the cave and gather our group together."

"You got it, Sir," said Reynolds. "We won't let you down." He and Harper turned and started running towards the gate at full tilt.

Next, Mac faced Lindsay. "All right, Baker, we need to head to camp. Don't press yourself too hard though."

Baker grinned at him. "Are you kidding, Sir? I want that baby back as much as you do. Come on!" She started running down the hill towards where they had taken shelter.

Mac kept pace with her easily, and as they passed members of their group, he yelled out, "Come, get your stuff. We're going back to Destiny. We're not stranded anymore." Excited cheers started, and they were joined by several other running people. When they got to the caves, Mac found Linda and told her the news. "I heard from Dr. Rush, ma'am. They've taken Destiny back over. We can go home."

The older woman's eyes lit up. "Nicholas is okay? Oh, thank God." She motioned to the cave where Everett and Melissa were. "Go tell them. I'll start sorting things out."

"All right."

He walked in and to the back of the cave where he saw Missy asleep. Everett looked up from where he had been gazing at his daughter. "Hey, I finally got her to go to sleep. She's been so upset she didn't notice how much she was bleeding." He pointed to a pool of blood on the blanket. "Mac, if something happens to her…" His voice broke. "Well, just to let you know, I'll be looking for a way to off myself. I can't live without her. I'm already gonna have to live without my boy."

Shaking his head, Mac smiled and put his hand on the other man's shoulder. "You're not gonna have to live without any of them, Sir. We were on the ridge near the stargate when it opened, and Dr. Rush came through on the radio. They've taken Destiny back. We can go home."

The other man looked at him in astonishment. "What?"

"Yeah, and the Alterans are there too. Sir, they can save Matthew. They're sending a team with a stretcher and a doctor."

"You're kidding."

"No, Sir."

Melissa suddenly sat up, startling both of them, with a look of longing on her face. "They can save my baby? We have to meet them." She tried to get up, but fell backwards.

Her husband gently pushed her back down. "No ma'am. They're sending a stretcher. And I don't think you could walk right now anyway. You've lost a lot of blood, Missy."

She leaned against him. "Is that why I'm so tired?"

Mac snapped his fingers. "I knew I forgot something. The Alteran commander said you were gonna need a blood transfusion." He lowered his voice. "I wonder if Alteran women experience excessive blood loss during childbirth."

"Probably," replied Everett. "Ok, Mac, is our group packing up?"

"Yes, Sir. Baker and Ms. Wilson were gonna make sure all of the teams got back in."

"Good. Do you need me for anything?"

"Nope, we've got it under control. They should be here shortly. Listen, when we get back to the ship, what do you want to do about Varro and his men? They volunteered to hunt for us earlier."

Everett thought for a long moment before he replied, and then, knowing that Missy would want him to forgive, said, "No confinement. Besides, with the Alterans here, we'll be able to dump the whole lot of them back in the Milky Way pretty soon."

"All right." Mac left the cave to help with the preparations to leave.

Ev then turned to his wife. "How are you feeling, baby?"

"Tired," said Missy. "But now I understand why." She picked up her son's body and stroked his cheek. "It's gonna be a miracle. I wonder if they'll want to put the babies on the stretcher too."

"I don't know. We'll find out."

About fifteen minutes later, several figures bustled into the cave—one of which was Sergeant Greer who said, with a warm smile, "Knock knock."

Staring at the group, which included Greer, Eli, Chloe, Reynolds, Harper, and two people they didn't know, in shock, Missy responded, "You're okay.

"Yes, I am, and you're gonna be okay too." He motioned to the people they didn't know. "This is Dr. Stacia Giovanni and her aide Roberto Monetti."

The doctor warmly smiled at them. "It is such a privilege to meet you, Dr. Young, and you too, Colonel." She addressed Melissa. "How are you feeling?"

Melissa replied, "Very tired. I've lost a lot of blood."

"That's normal for what you've been through." She gave her a quick exam. "We'll be able to get you fixed up when we get back to the ship. Where are the babies?"

"Right here," said Everett.

He handed her Katie who gurgled and grabbed her finger. "Oh, you are a big girl." She gazed back at Ev. "Where's the other one?"

Holding up Matthew's body, Missy answered, "Right here. Can you really save him?"

Stacia took him from her and carefully examined him. "I think so. All he needs is a dose of growth hormone and sometime in the neural stimulator. There's one in your infirmary, but we need to get him there as soon as possible."

"All right." They loaded her on the stretcher and strapped her in putting Katie and Matthew's body next to her. Missy looked over at the doctor. "Will they be secure enough in here?"

"They will."

Everett interrupted, "They most certainly will." He brushed her cheek gently. "We're gonna be real careful, honey. Carrying precious cargo—my family. You just relax, okay? You get to take a ride."

Giving her husband a tender gaze, Melissa replied, "All right."

Ev, Greer, Eli, and Monetti each picked up an end of the stretcher and walked out of the cave along with Chloe, Mac, and Dr. Giovanni. As they emerged from the cave into the clearing, the group that had gathered all started applauding. Ev grinned and said, "Okay, we are headed back to the ship." He saw Lieutenant Peterson and Linda Wilson. "Can you two please bring up the rear and make sure we have everyone?"

"Sure can," said Peterson.

The group started walking down the hill back towards the stargate with everyone talking excitedly about getting back to the ship. When the people with Missy's stretcher arrived at the gate, they put it down and Eli dialed Destiny's address into the remote he was holding. While they were waiting for the gate to kawoosh, Everett looked down at his wife and gently brushed the side of her face. She opened her eyes and smiled at him as he asked, "How are you doing, baby?"

"I'm okay," said Missy. "I can't wait until I feel stronger."

"Me too. I'm gonna need help chasing after these babies when they're walking."

"That's right."

The gate kawooshed and the group started walking through it. Dr. Giovanni checked one more time to make sure Missy and the babies were secure. The men then picked up the stretcher and walked through the gate arriving at the Destiny moments later.


	10. Chapter 10

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 10

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Once they were there, Dr. Rush, Lieutenant Scott, and a tall man with dark hair approached them. Scott greeted Young. "Sir, I am very glad to see you."

"As am I, Lieutenant," said Ev. He motioned to Mac to take his end of the stretcher and told Dr. Giovanni, "Go ahead and take Missy and the children to the infirmary." She nodded, and he leaned down and tenderly kissed his wife's forehead. "They're gonna take you to the infirmary and fix you up, honey. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Melissa weakly smiled at him. "That's fine, Ev. We'll see you shortly."

The group moved off into the main part of the ship. Once they were gone, Everett turned back to the other three men. He grinned and shared enthusiastic handshakes with Scott and Rush. "You two must have some kind of story to tell."

Rush grinned back at him. "Aye, that we do, Colonel, but first…" He motioned to the third man and the woman who had come to stand beside him. "Let me introduce Commander Gaius Aurelius of the Alteran ship Caprea and his first officer Leia Caligula. Commander, First Officer, this is Colonel Everett Young."

Holding out his hand as he had seen the other men do, Aurelius said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Colonel."

Briskly shaking the hand he was offered, Ev said, "The pleasure is mine, Commander. I am very grateful for a number of reasons that you are here now. Did you have a problem finding us?"

"Well, we were on the other side of the binary pulsar, and we hadn't detected any signal indicating that you had jumped again." He motioned to the woman beside him. "First Officer Caligula deduced that the pulsar might have been preventing you from jumping again so we flew around it and found you."

"Excellent."

"Yes, it was," replied Scott. He indicated himself and Rush. "We, along with Chloe, Greer, Eli, and Brody, were in the hydroponics lab when they radioed us. We were going to shut down the air so we could take control back from the Lucian Alliance."

Dr. Rush continued the story. "Commander Aurelius called us over the radio asking for you, Colonel Young. Of course, those idiots Dannic and Simeon knew they had thrown you off the ship. Well, I answered and told them a hostile force had taken over the ship. Within moments, we heard sounds of a pitched battle in the gate room."

Before Commander Aurelius could add his comments to the story, they were interrupted by the last of the people who had come through the gate. Lieutenant Peterson spoke to Everett. "Sir, did you decide what to do about Varro and his men?" He motioned to the Lucian Alliance men.

Everett spoke up. "Oh I'm sorry, Peterson. I told Mac, but I didn't tell anyone else. Go ahead and assign them quarters." He explained to the other men. "They helped when Missy went into labor." Then he addressed Varro. "Please stay put until we get things sorted out. I'm getting the story of what happened up here now."

"We will," said Varro. "Thank you for trusting us."

"You're welcome." He motioned for Peterson to escort them out. After they were gone, he turned back to the Alteran commander. "I'm sorry about that. Please continue."

Aurelius replied, "That's fine, Colonel. Let's see. Where was I? Oh yes, Dr. Rush had told us that a hostile force had taken over the ship and were mainly concentrated in the room with the stone ring. Our special fighting unit had already been prepared, and we beamed them over there. It took a few minutes, but we finally overwhelmed them with our superior numbers."

"Great! How many survivors and where are they?"

"There are ten survivors, and they're in one of the cargo holds. With the six you brought back from the planet that makes a total of sixteen."

A set expression appeared on Ev's face. "Is either of them named Dannic or Simeon?"

Gaius looked over at Rush. "You know, I'm not sure. Do you know?"

The scientist grimly smiled at Everett. "No, both of them were killed. Dr. Park told me what happened in the Mess with the lass being assaulted by Dannic. Don't worry. He got what was coming to him. So did Simeon."

"Excellent," said Everett. He then gazed back at Aurelius. "So, what happens now?"

The commander replied, "We have a lot to talk about."

"You're right." The five of them walked out of the gate room and into the main part of the ship.

Meanwhile, the men carrying Melissa's stretcher had carried it over to the Infirmary. Dr. Giovanni told the men, "Go ahead and put her and Katie on that bed. I'll take Matthew…" She picked up Matthew's body. "And give him a dose of growth hormone before putting him in the neural stimulator."

Melissa nodded in gratitude and held onto her daughter as the men got them settled. Once they were in the bed, she heard a soft voice to her left. "Well, she certainly is a cutie-pie."

When she turned in that direction, Missy saw who the voice belonged to. It was a pale-looking TJ propped up in bed. "TJ, you're okay."

"I am." She noticed Mac gazing at her with tears pouring down his face. Holding out her arms, she told him, "I'm okay, Mac," and he came over and embraced her, kissing her on the forehead. TJ then looked back at Missy. "I am so sorry I wasn't there to deliver the babies."

Melissa softly smiled at her friend. "It's all right. Vanessa and Jessie did a good job."

"What happened?" She motioned to where the doctor had taken Matthew.

"Matthew stopped breathing a few hours ago. I think he was too small. But the doctor says she can save him."

"That's good. So, you named him Matthew?"

"Yes, Matthew Ronald, actually."

Grinning, TJ nodded. "I like it. Of course, the guys won't be able to contain themselves."

Sergeant Greer spoke up with a grin. "That's right. I have a namesake now. I get to teach him all kinds of things."

The group around the beds which included Greer, Mac, Eli, and Chloe chuckled as TJ spoke once more. "What's that one's name?" She pointed to the baby in Melissa's arms.

Mac touched his girlfriend's shoulder. "You'll like this one. You're gonna have namesake rights too. It's Katherine Tamara, but they're gonna call her Katie."

"Oh wow!" A few tears came down TJ's face. "Thank you, Melissa."

"You're welcome," said Missy.

TJ swiped at the tears on her face and looked around at them. "Well, I suppose enough of you are here for me to tell." She softly smiled at Mac. "In a little over seven months, I will be giving someone a namesake."

They all gaped at her until Missy realized what she meant. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

Eagerly nodding, TJ looked over at Mac, waiting for him to react which he did a moment later. "You're pregnant. Oh wow!" He hugged and kissed her. "Is the baby okay?"

"Yes, it is," said TJ. She pointed to her shoulder which was bandaged. "I was shot here, and I hit my head when I hit the ground so I have a concussion—neither of which are anywhere near the baby."

"I'm so glad. I love you."

"I love you too."

As the others congratulated TJ and Mac, an overwhelming feeling of tiredness came over Melissa. She said, "I'm really happy for you, TJ, but I think right now I want to…" Her eyes shut as she slurred the last word.

Her friends gazed at her worriedly, and Chloe reached over and grabbed Katie before she could fall. Eli called for the doctor. "Dr. Giovanni, something's wrong with Melissa."

The doctor scurried over after telling her aide to keep an eye on the neural stimulator. She took Missy's vital signs and told the group standing there, "Dr. Young needs a blood transfusion. Actually, one should have been started before now. Let me check her blood type." She took a needle out and got a blood sample. "After she placed it in a small hand-held device and got the results, she cursed. "Damno!"

"What's wrong?" asked Greer.

Gazing around at the group, Giovanni asked, "How many of you know Dr. Young's true origins?" When they all nodded in the affirmative, she continued, "Well, with Alterans, we have eight total blood types, but each blood type is only compatible with one other blood type. Unfortunately, she has the rarest blood type, and we don't have any on board the Caprea and not very much of the compatible type either. I'll have to check and see if we have anyone on board who could donate."

Chloe spoke up. "Why don't you ask Colonel Young first?"

Stacia looked at her thoughtfully. "You're right. Why didn't I think of that?" She picked up a radio and turned it on saying, "Commander Aurelius, this is Dr. Giovanni."

The commander's voice was heard over the radio. "What can I do for you, Doctor?"

"I need to let you know that Dr. Young has lost consciousness. Her blood type is AB 12, and we don't have any of that type and very little of the compatible type on board the Caprea. I'm going to need a donor, Sir. I'd like to see if Colonel Young is compatible."

"We're on our way."

A few minutes later, the two men came hurrying in with Everett going to his wife's bedside anxiously. "What happened?"

Giovanni replied, "She lost consciousness. I need to see if your blood type is compatible."

"Of course." He rolled up his sleeve, and she took a blood sample, putting it into the device she was holding. When he heard it beep, he asked, "Will it work?"

She smiled at him. "Yes, you are A 12. Why don't you get on the bed next to your wife, and we can start right away?"

He did so, and she hooked him up to what looked like a filtering device. When she saw him glance at it with interest, she said, "This machine will filter the impurities out of your blood and then this tube…" She showed him where her assistant was about to connect a tube to Melissa's arm. "Will send the filtered red blood into your wife. It won't take long." The doctor gave him a reassuring smile.

"Good." Ev looked around the infirmary. "Where are the children?"

Chloe responded, motioning to the baby in her arms, "I've got Katie."

At that moment, a machine at the back of the room beeped. Dr. Giovanni said, "And that's my signal that the stimulator is done. Hold on a second." She walked over to the machine and took Matthew out of it. Noticing that he was cooing and kicking vigorously, she nodded with satisfaction and took him over to Everett. "Here's your son, Colonel, and he's just fine."

She placed him in the crook of his right arm, and Ev gazed down at him in wonderment. "Matthew, you're okay." A few tears fell down his face. "I love you so much." He then looked back at the doctor. "Thank you." Indicating Missy, he continued, "Thank you from both of us."

Giovanni warmly smiled at him. "You're welcome." She pointed to where the blood was coming out. "We'll probably need to keep that up for at least an hour."

"I understand." He spoke to Aurelius, indicating the group around them, "Besides Dr. Rush and Lieutenant Scott, these are the people I've relied upon for counsel since we've been on the Destiny. Shall we tell them what we've already discussed?"

"Of course," said the commander. "Like I was telling Colonel Young and the others, we have a device we can place on what we call the astrum porta—the stargate—which will fulfill the power requirements to dial a nine chevron address in the Milky Way. We can send you home." He grinned at seeing the excited expressions on their faces. "We are also interested in an alliance with your people. The device is being installed now, and I think Colonel Young wanted to try dialing once things got sorted out here."

"That's correct. I know we'll have to do a test dial as Homeworld Command will not be expecting us." He gave them an impish grin. "We're about to give some poor gate tech a heart attack. Well, anyway, after they know we're coming, I'm going to send some people through to report. I've already talked to Scott about going, and Chloe, I would like you to go too."

"I would be glad to," said Chloe.

"Thank you. I am also going to send Miss Wray as the IOA representative."

Greer spoke up. "Are you sure that's wise, Sir?"

"Well, General O'Neill and the IOA will expect a representative from the civilian side of our group, and she's the most logical one to send. And the Alterans are not a secret anymore. They're here. Now, the thing I do want to remain secret, for as long as possible is Melissa's and my origins. In fact, I want that to be the very last thing that is revealed." He gave Missy a fond smile. "I have three people to protect now."

"Understood, Sir. No one will hear about it from me."

As the others nodded in agreement, Commander Aurelius remarked, "I am hoping things go well with these negotiations, but, in case they don't, I should tell you that I have offered asylum to Colonel Young and his family and that my offer extends to those they trust. Colonel Young has explained to me that not everyone on your planet knows of the existence of life on other planets and that people in your government might be upset to hear of him and his mate's true origins."

"I hate to say it," said Mac, "But he is probably right. Listen, I had a question. I'm assuming you're gonna want to have the negotiations here. How will they be able to dial our gate?"

"I was wondering when someone was going to ask. We have a device that Lieutenant Scott is going to take with him. They will be able to attach it to their astrum porta, and it will give them the necessary power requirements. It will work for five days without the code word, but if the negotiations are successful, we will give this word to your people, and they will be able to use it to travel to our planet."

"Ahh, okay. Sounds like a good plan." He addressed Young. "What about Colonel Telford?"

Ev replied, "Well, Scott assigned him quarters after he was helpful in subduing the Lucian Alliance. He has a gunshot wound and a concussion, but didn't want to come back here. So, he's resting. When I talk to Homeworld Command, I'm going to ask that they bring more doctors." He looked over at the doctor. "I have really appreciated everything you've done. I just want to make sure you have enough help."

Stacia warmly smiled at him. "I appreciate that, Colonel. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He gazed at his watch. "All right, it's 11PM Homeworld Command time. I want to make a general crew announcement in about nine hours and then we're going to try and dial. Get some rations and some sleep, and I'll see you then."

Everyone nodded, and the group headed out. Before she left, Chloe asked Everett, pointing to the baby in her arms, "Where should I leave Katie?"

"Why don't you ask Dr. Giovanni?"

He motioned to where she had gone, and Chloe went to ask her. The doctor took the baby from her, and Chloe left with the others. She placed Katie on a small bed and wheeled it over to where Ev was. "I thought you would like having both of them near you." She checked the machine and then her watch. "It's almost been an hour. Your mate should wake up soon."

Almost as if in response, Melissa blinked her eyes several times and then opened them. "Whoa! What happened?"

Turning to her, Everett smiled and said, "Hi baby. How are you feeling?"

Missy thought for a moment before answering him. "I feel better. Wait a minute. Where's Katie?"

He pointed to the small bed. "Right there, honey, and I've got someone else that wants to say hi." He spoke to the baby in his arms before lifting him up where she could see him. "Say hi to Mama, Matthew."

Gasping with surprise, a look of joy appeared on Melissa's face. "Oh, oh, you're okay, Matthew." She gazed at her husband. "May I hold him?"

A voice interrupted them. It was Stacia who said, "Let me unhook you from this first. I think you have enough blood in you now. She unhooked the machinery from Missy and from Everett. Then she helped her sit up, telling him, "Go ahead and let her hold the baby."

Nodding, Everett slid Matthew into his mother's open arms. He then sat on the bed next to them cradling them in his arms. "It's a true miracle. After what happened earlier, I was just trying to figure out how to go on."

"I know. Me too," said Missy. She looked around at the empty infirmary. "Where did everyone go?"

"Told them to get some rations and some sleep. You've been unconscious for a couple of hours."

A sheepish look came over her face. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I hope I didn't interrupt what you were doing with the Alteran commander."

"No need to be sorry." He stroked the side of her face. "We just finished our discussion in here, and I found out something very important."

"What's that?"

"Our blood types are compatible. We can transfuse blood for each other if we need to."

"Oh, that's good. So, what happened with Commander Aurelius?"

An impish grin appeared on his face as he told her everything they had discussed. When he finished, he said, "After the general crew announcement in the morning, we will be doing a test dial to Earth, and when we finish giving the gate tech a heart attack, I'll be sending Scott, Chloe, and Camille through to report in and hopefully start the process of putting a negotiating team together."

Melissa chuckled. "You are so bad, Everett, because you know you're gonna give that tech a heart attack." She sobered as she continued, "So, the Alterans want an alliance?"

"They do, but we have a guarantee in case things go sour. Gaius has offered our family and anyone we trust asylum. They were really excited when the ascended Alterans appeared to them and told them about the Destiny and about us. Said we would be treated like royalty if we visited Altera."

"Royalty, huh?" She grinned at him sheepishly. "Don't know how I feel about that, but it would be nice to visit and learn more about our heritage."

"I agree."

Before he could say anything else, Matthew arched his body towards Missy and started crying. His mother looked at him fondly. "I think someone is hungry." She put him to her breast, and he began sucking vigorously. "Ev, I can't remember the last time I ate or drank something, and I'm starving. Can you get me something?"

"Sure, honey." He went over to the doctor who found some supplies she had brought into the infirmary. When he came back, he was holding a bottle of water and what looked like some round bread. Ev handed it to her, telling her, "The doctor called this a caro sandwich. I'm not sure what it means, but she said it was good."

"I don't know either. Let's find out." She took a bite and said, "Oh, this is good. It tastes like beef. Can you open the bottle for me?"

"Sure."

He opened the bottle, helping her balance the items so she could eat and drink while feeding the baby. When she was halfway done, they heard crying coming from the small bed. A frantic look came over Missy's face. "Katie's hungry. Everett, how am I supposed to feed them both at the same time?" She pointed to where Matthew still had a firm hold on one of her nipples. "There's no way he's done yet."

"Don't know." He went and picked Katie up trying to soothe her. "Matthew's almost done munchkin."

Dr. Giovanni came up to the bed. "Can I help you with something?"

"Katie wants to eat, but Matthew's not done yet." He pointed to Missy and the other baby.

"I might have something that could help with that." Stacia walked over to a drawer, got something out, and came back to the bed. She told Missy to lean forward and once she did, she slipped what looked like a large sling with belts on the inside over her head. When she was finished attaching it, the doctor said, "Okay, lay Matthew in the sling and fasten the buckles so you don't have to hold him." Melissa did so, and then the doctor said to Ev, "Ok, hand her Katie," and once he had done so, said to Melissa, "All right, now put her at your other breast and do the same thing."

The new mom did so, and moments later, Katie had found her other nipple and begun sucking. Gazing at the doctor and Ev, Missy grinned and said, "Wow! They're feeding at the same time, and my hands are free. This is cool! Thank you, Doctor." She reached for the bottle of water and took a sip.

"You're welcome."

"Will I need to switch the breast they're at for each of them to get a full feeding?"

"No, let them feed as long as they want where they are, and then they should fall asleep."

"Wonderful. Thanks again." Stacia nodded and moved off to examine another patient. The babies continued to breast feed while Missy finished her meal. When she was done, she looked over at Everett. "Hey, I had a question for you. Can I come to the all-crew meeting when you dial the gate? The babies can ride in here." She pointed to the carrier she was wearing. "Or we can get the slings from our room and each wear a baby." She gave him a pleading look. "Please."

Ev laughed as he shook his head. "Missy, I don't know what I'm gonna do when I have three sets of eyes wanting something instead of just one. I can't tell you no now."

She gazed at him hopefully. "Does that mean yes?"

"Yes, you may if the doctor says it's okay, if you can walk, and if you promise to sit when we get there."

"Yes to all three." She leaned over and kissed him. "Thank you. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He pointed to where the babies had fallen asleep. "How about we get them in their bed and then go to sleep ourselves?"

"All right." Everett took each baby from her and placed them in the bed. Once he had done so, Missy cautiously got up and walked to where he was observing them. Noticing that the babies had curled up together, Missy said, "Look, Matthew's protecting his sister just like you protect me. Today has been such a miracle."

"Yep." He put his arm around her waist. "Our family is okay. Honey, I will do anything I have to, to protect the three of you. You know that, right?"

"Yes, I do." She let him help her get back in the bed, and he climbed in it with her, putting his arms around her. "I love you, Everett."

"I love you too, Missy. Good night."

"Good night." They drifted off to sleep content in their love for one another and for their children.


	11. Chapter 11

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 11

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

When Melissa woke up to soft whimpers the next morning, she noticed that Ev wasn't there and looked around curiously. Seeing that TJ was propped up in the bed on the other side of her, she said, "Morning TJ, where's the Colonel?"

TJ replied, "Morning Melissa. He told me to tell you he was meeting with Scott, Chloe, and Camille in preparation for them going through the gate. He wants you to eat, feed the babies, and then he and Mac will be back to get us before the all-crew meeting in the gate room."

"Excellent." She called out to the doctor who came, helped her attach the carrier, and brought the babies to her. Once they were comfortably feeding, Stacia brought Melissa and TJ some breakfast, and the two women had a good time talking and laughing while they were eating. As they finished up, Everett and Mac walked in the infirmary. Missy's eyes lit up when she saw her husband. "Morning, sweetheart."

Coming to her bed, Ev gently kissed her lips before saying, "Morning, honey." He then touched each baby's forehead. "Good morning, Katie. Good morning, Matthew."

Almost as if they knew who was greeting them, each baby grabbed his finger and squealed excitedly which made the adults all chuckle. TJ said, "Sir, I think they know who you are."

"I think you're right, TJ," replied Melissa. She gazed at Everett. "Is it time to go?"

"Yes," said Ev who handed her one of the slings he had been carrying. "I thought we'd each carry a baby."

"Sounds good." He helped her unhook the carrier, and they laid each of the babies on the bed. After they had attached the smaller slings to themselves, she asked, "Ok, who's gonna go with who?"

"Well, let's see." He addressed the babies. "Who wants to go with Daddy?" Each of them squealed, but when Matthew was a little louder, he told him, "All right, Matthew, you get to come with me, and you, Katie, get to go with Mama."

They put the babies in the slings. Once they had done that, Mac helped TJ out of the bed, and the four of them walked to the door where they were met by Dr. Giovanni. She told the women, "I agreed to this on the condition that I come with you and that you both sit down once we get there."

"Agreed," said Missy. "I know I won't want to stand the whole time."

"Me either," said TJ. "Being in my first trimester and having a gunshot wound and concussion has not been fun."

Stacia nodded approvingly, and the five of them left the infirmary and walked slowly towards the gate room, the men keeping a cautious hold on the women's arms. When they got there, the group that was waiting greeted them with a round of applause. Mac led TJ to some chairs that had been set up at the front of the crowd while Everett took Missy to a chair that was sitting next to the control console. Once she was sitting, he signaled for quiet. Everyone looked at him as he began speaking. "Good morning. I'm sure most of you have heard by now that our new friends, the Alterans…" He motioned to Commander Aurelius and his first officer. "Have given us a tremendous gift—the ability to dial Earth. We are going to make contact, and once we have gotten clearance, Lieutenant Scott, Miss Armstrong, and Miss Wray will be going through to report to General O'Neill and the IOA. They are going to request supplies, additional medical personnel, and a negotiating team. Decisions will need to be made on how they will want to reintegrate all of us back into our lives on Earth, but I am very sure that will be accomplished as quickly as possible so that we can go home."

Applause began once more and lasted for almost a full minute as everyone wanted to display their enthusiasm. Once it stopped, Young ordered, "Ok, Sergeant Riley, dial the gate."

Riley grinned, saying, "Yes, Sir," and began to dial.

As the chevrons started to light up, Everett went over to Melissa and put his arm around her shoulders, both of them softly stroking their babies' foreheads. Colonel Telford, who had his arm in a sling and a bandage on his forehead, walked up to them from where he had been standing against a wall. "Nice job, Everett. I didn't think we'd get your group home so soon."

Ev chuckled. "Well, it wasn't me. It was the Alterans."

"Yeah, I've been hearing an interesting …" His voice trailed off as the wormhole kawooshed.

Riley spoke into his radio. "Stargate Command, this is the Destiny. Come in please. This is the Destiny. Come in please."

After a long moment, they heard a response. "There's no way this can be the Destiny, and it's a terrible joke. Who are you really?"

Everett grinned and motioned for Riley to hand him the radio. "But this is the Destiny. Colonel Everett Young speaking. Authentication code—alpha, gamma, delta, beta. Son, you're gonna want General O'Neill. I've got three people ready to come through to report."

The people waiting in the Destiny's gate room heard the sounds of fumbling and two voices talking to one another. One of the voices said, "That is the correct code. We need to call General O'Neill." Ev then heard a distinct voice come through again. "Sir, this is Sergeant Harriman. General O'Neill has been called and will be down here shortly. Do you have the ability to reconnect if the time limit runs out?" Gazing at the Alteran commander and seeing him nod in the affirmative, Everett replied, "Yes, we do, Sergeant."

"Good."

For the next few minutes, there was no sound on either side of the wormhole except for the excited murmurs among the Destiny crew. Finally, they heard another voice come over the radio. "General Jack O'Neill here. Is this really the Destiny? Is this really Colonel Young?"

"Yes, it is," said a grinning Everett as he clasped Missy's hand. "A lot has happened since we last spoke. Most importantly, we have made some new friends who have made this possible. Listen, General, I have three people ready to come through the gate to give you a complete report and to make some requests. I can go ahead and send them if you tell me the iris is down."

"It's been taken care of. Go ahead."

Ev walked over to Scott, Chloe, and Camille. "All right, you're up. Thanks for being willing to do this."

"You're welcome," said Camille. "We'll see you when they're ready to come back." Chloe nodded as well, and the two women went to the gate.

Before Scott could join them, Everett whispered in his ear, "Do you remember what to say and what not to say?"

"Yes, Sir," said Scott. "We won't let you down. Haven't spent any time with my namesake yet." He touched the baby's head. "I'll be back soon, Matthew." He went to join the women at the gate, and the three of them stepped through.

Returning to the console, Ev spoke into his radio. "Lieutenant Scott and his team are on their way."

"Understood," said O'Neill. "Listen, how are we supposed to get back with you after we hear their report? Are you going to dial us again?"

"Actually, Sir, Lieutenant Scott is bringing something that will enable your gate to dial ours."

"Ahh, you have made some interesting friends. Ok, they're here. We'll talk with you…" Matthew chose that moment to babble, and the general stopped talking for a moment. He then asked, "Colonel, what was that?"

Grinning, Ev replied, "You are hearing one of the newest members of our crew." Katie's babbles rose to match Matthew's. "And that would be the other new member."

The general chuckled in response. "I think I have some news to share with people here, Colonel. I'll talk with you soon and congratulations."

"Thank you, Sir." The gate went dark as the contact severed. Everett cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Ok, it will probably be several hours before we get a response and possibly a day or so before anyone comes. For the moment, we will also not be going back into FTL. Commander Aurelius has had people from his ship help us put our engine on standby, and they have also assisted Dr. Rush and Mr. Brody in making sure the shields are fully functional. So, we are perfectly safe here. I ask that you go back to your quarters or to any duties that you have. We will make a ship wide announcement once we have any further news. That is all."

The crew started leaving the gate room and talking excitedly about what had happened. Dr. Rush, Greer, Eli, Mac, and TJ came over to where Ev and Missy were standing at the control console. Rush said, "Well, that went well."

"I thought so too. Let's hope they react well to the Alteran proposal."

"Yes, but there is something you need to know about."

Everett looked at him concernedly. "And what would that be?"

He motioned to Telford who was following the crowd out of the gate room. "Colonel Telford found out that Commander Aurelius specifically asked for you, and he wants to know why."

"Oh no! How?"

"Mr. Brody." Rush shrugged his shoulders. "I can't fault him. He didn't know."

Shaking his head gravely, the other man replied, 'No, he didn't. Do you think Telford told Camille?"

"More than likely. Listen, have you thought about bringing any more people in on your secret?"

"Actually, I have." He gazed at his wife. "I didn't have time to tell you, but Mac and I were discussing this earlier."

Missy smiled at her husband. "I'm open to doing that, but we should probably have this discussion…" She motioned to the few people that were still milling around. "Somewhere else."

"You're right. We need to take you and TJ back to the infirmary anyway." He looked back at the others. "How about we take this discussion to the infirmary?"

The others nodded, and the group walked out of the gate room and over to the infirmary. Once TJ and Melissa had been settled back in their beds, the men sat or stood near the beds and continued their discussion. Melissa said, "Who did you have in mind to tell, Ev?"

"Well, I was thinking we could tell Park, Brody, Volker, and Linda. And then, we could get an idea from them on who else we should tell."

"That would be fine with me." She gazed at the others. "What do you think?

Greer spoke up. "I think that will be okay. Where you might run into a problem is from some of the civilians that worked with Miss Wray and maybe some of the younger airmen."

"I agree," said Mac. "But everything you have done for the people on this ship will go a long way towards counteracting any bad effects."

"Thank you, Mac," said Melissa with a warm smile. She gazed over at Dr. Rush. "What do you think, Nicholas?"

The older man grinned at her. "I think that will work, lass." Rush turned back towards the colonel. "When do you want to do this?"

Everett replied, "I want to do it before we hear back from Earth so let's do it in about an hour." He started giving instructions. "Rush, I'll want you here so, Eli, go tell Park, Volker, and Brody you'll ban the Control Room while they're here."

"I can do that," said Eli.

Looking over at Dr. Rush, Ev continued, "Will you please ask Linda to join us when it's time?"

"I'll be glad too," said Nicholas. "And, Colonel, I don't think you need to worry how she'll react." A fond smile came over his face. "She's quite the adaptable lady."

Grinning and winking at him, the other man asked, "Oh, she is?"

Melissa nudged her husband's arm and grinned. "Everett, behave yourself." The group all chuckled at their antics as Missy continued, "I agree with you, Nicholas." She warmly smiled at her friend. "And I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you have found someone."

"Me too, lass," said Rush. "Me too."

With that, the group broke up promising to be back in an hour. Once they had left, Everett, who had been holding Matthew in the sling, sat on the bed with Melissa, who was holding Katie in her sling. They watched their children for a moment and then he asked her, "So, baby, how are you feeling? That wasn't too much, was it?"

Missy shook her head. "No, it wasn't. So much has happened. I can't believe it's just been two days since they were born. They are a true miracle." She gently caressed his face. "And you are too."

He covered her hand with his. "No, you're the miracle, Missy. You and our babies. I never thought I'd be a father, and now you've given me these precious children. I love you with all my heart, and like I told you last night, I will protect all three of you whether we stay here, go back to Earth, or go to Altera."

"I know you will. I love you too, Everett." She leaned over and tenderly kissed his lips.

"All right." Pointing to the slings where Katie and Matthew had fallen asleep, he said, "Let's put them on their bed and then you can rest until everyone gets back."

"Sounds good."

They took the slings off, and Everett took each baby over to the bed. Once he had done so, he told Missy, "I'm gonna make a quick run to our quarters, and I'll be right back. I want you to rest, okay?"

"Okay."

Ev helped her lie down and left to go on his errands. After he had picked up some things from their quarters, he checked in with the Caprea and spoke with some of the civilians before heading back to the infirmary. When he walked back in, he saw Melissa talking with TJ, Linda, and Dr. Rush. "Hey guys." He put a bag on the empty bed next to his wife. "I got some things we might need. How are the kids?"

Missy's eyes lit up. "They're still asleep." She pointed to a bundle at the end of her bed. "Dr. Giovanni found some of what I think is the Alteran equivalent of diapers."

"Very cool." He sat on the bed, put his arm around her, and then asked Dr. Rush, "Do we know where the others are?"

Nicholas replied, "Should be here shortly."

Gazing at them curiously, Linda asked, "What's going on, Colonel? Nicholas said you had something to tell me, but he wouldn't say anything else." She nudged him affectionately. "The man keeps secrets well."

He turned and brushed her face gently. "Well, it's not really my secret. It's the colonel's and the lass's."

Turning back to the couple on the bed, Linda said, "Well?"

Smiling, Ev replied, "We're waiting for a few more people, and then you questions will be answered."

"All right."

A few minutes later, five more people walked into the infirmary. They walked over to the group around Missy and TJ's beds. Brody asked Dr. Rush, "What's going on, Rush? Eli said you and the colonel wanted to talk to us…" He motioned to Park and Volker. "And that he would man the Control Room. Is anything wrong?"

Shaking his head, Dr. Rush replied, "No, nothing wrong. We just wanted to tell you about something before the negotiating team got here."

The others gazed at him uncomprehendingly until Brody snapped his fingers. "Does this have anything to do with why Commander Aurelius asked for Colonel Young specifically just before his team took care of the Lucian Alliance for us?"

Rush gave Young a knowing glance before answering. "Well, actually, it does, and since you've guessed that it has something to do with the colonel and with the lass as well, I'm going to let them continue."

"Ok, now you've made me curious."

Standing up, Everett said, "I suggest you all sit. This will take a while." Everyone found beds or chairs to sit on as he began talking. He told them about how the ascended being had appeared to him and Melissa when they had first come aboard the Destiny, how he had given them information about their background, and how they had also seen an older version of their daughter. Missy also brought up how they had seen their parents the night before their wedding and how they had confirmed everything the ascended being had told them. When she finished, Ev said, "I know this is a lot to take in. Do you have any questions?"

The four who had not known the story stared at the others in shock. Brody raised his hand. "So, the two of you are children of Alterans who descended on Earth?"

"That's right."

"How did Commander Aurelius know of your existence? We're in an entirely different galaxy now."

A voice came from behind them. It was Aurelius who said, "When you came through the astrum porta here to the Destiny, Colonel Young, his mate, and their unborn child's, I mean children's Alteran life signs were detected. Some ascended Alterans made an appearance to members of my government and told them about the Destiny and the Youngs. The knowledge spread across our planet like wildfire. It was decided that the Caprea would be send to meet you." He looked at the group excitedly. "You have to understand something. The story of where we came from is part of our mythology. To find out that Alterans existed in another galaxy has been nothing short of a miracle for my people. We, as a race, have come close to dying out many times so we are very interested in knowing our human cousins with the help of Colonel Young and his mate."

Brody gazed at them, his eyes wide, and then looked back over at Rush. "This is incredible. I'm guessing you knew about this." He turned to the other military personnel. "And from the lack of reaction from the rest of you, I'm guessing you knew too."

There were solemn nods all around as Brody and the others who hadn't known processed the information. Lisa Park said, "I'm guessing Eli knows too, and uh, Chloe and Lieutenant Scott."

Missy nodded at the woman she had come to consider a friend and said, "Lisa, I'm sorry we didn't…"

A voice interrupted her. It was Dale Volker who said, in a slightly angry tone, "Why didn't you tell everyone else? Didn't you think the rest of us deserved to know?"

That started a furious argument among the men about how decisions had been made and about whether they could still trust Ev and Melissa. Finally, Melissa said, with tears rolling down her face, "It was because of me—because of what happened when Colonel Telford used Everett's body to beat the crap out of me and when those other men tried to rape me. That's why we didn't say." Ev put his arm around her, and she snuggled into the crook of it.

Linda gave her a sympathetic look. "You couldn't risk it getting back to Earth could you, honey? There are probably people there who would have taken advantage." After the other woman solemnly nodded in the affirmative, Linda gazed at Brody and Volker. "Shame on you both. She had to protect her children. You can't tell me that either of you wouldn't have done the same thing. And you know what they almost sacrificed doing their duty for this ship. When we came back yesterday, their son was dead. If it wasn't for the Alteran doctor, he would still be dead. So, I will tell anyone who asks that Everett and Melissa have gone above and beyond for the people on this ship. The fact that they're not human hasn't mattered a bit, and it shouldn't matter to you either."

Everyone gathered around the two beds looked at Linda in shock. Before anyone could say anything though, Nicholas slipped his arm around her waist and addressed Everett. "What did I tell you, Colonel? She's quite the adaptable lady."

With that, the argument stopped. Volker said, "I'm sorry, Dr. Young. Sorry Colonel." Motioning to Linda, he continued, "She's right, of course. You should have protected your children first."

"I agree," said Brody. "And my sister would kill me if she knew I made a new mom cry." He sheepishly smiled at Melissa. "Please don't."

Missy swiped at her eyes with her sleeve and smiled at both of them. "Apology accepted."

Looking over at the colonel, Brody then asked, "Why are you telling us this now?"

"Well," said Ev, "we are guessing this is going to come out during the negotiations, and we wanted to tell as many as we could ourselves."

Commander Aurelius spoke up. "The other thing that is important to us is to see how your government reacts to the news. Colonel Young has told me that not everyone on your planet knows about life on other planets and that some people will probably be upset to hear of his and his mate's origins. How they handle that will determine how far the negotiations will go."

"That's a sensible approach," said Park. "What are you going to need from us?"

Everett replied, "We were wondering if you had any ideas about who else would be good to tell and who wouldn't be, and we also just want you to keep your eyes and ears open."

"I understand."

The group continued to talk for the next thirty minutes discussing how the next few days on the ship were going to go and what duties the colonel wanted everyone to assume. They had finished by the time cries and whimpers were heard from the other bed. Everyone took a peek at the babies and then left to go back to their duties—duties that would prepare the ship for the visit of a delegation from Earth.


	12. Chapter 12

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 12

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Once they were gone, Everett went and changed each baby's diaper. He brought Katie to Missy and then brought Matthew to the bed and sat down with his wife and daughter. Addressing his son, he said, "Hi little buddy. Are you hungry?"

Matthew squealed excitedly and grabbed Ev's finger as his mother softly chuckled. Missy remarked, "I bet he is, Ev. Katie is making sucking movements with her lips. Can you get me the carrier please?"

"Sure honey." He went and got the carrier and helped her buckle it on. After he had done that, she laid Katie in it buckling her in securely before loosening her shirt and bra so the baby could find her nipple. Once her daughter was comfortably feeding, Melissa held out her arms, and Everett handed her Matthew who she also placed in the carrier. It didn't take long for him to find the other nipple, and he began feeding as well. Missy then lay back on the pillow as Everett scooted next to her on the bed. He noticed her relaxed posture and chuckled. "Relaxing, are we?"

Shrugging her shoulders and flashing him an amused grin, his wife replied, "This thing…" She pointed to the carrier. "Is so cool! If it was ever marketed on Earth, whoever started it would make a fortune."

Ev grinned and winked at her. "Maybe you can ask for the patent, baby. Then I can live in the lap of luxury."

"Ha! Ha!" She brushed his cheek gently, telling him, "I thought that went pretty well. What do you think?"

"It did, but we're probably gonna see some of the same initial reactions from people especially when the IOA gets a hold of it."

"You're right. How are we going to handle it?"

He looked at her hesitantly knowing how she was going to react to what he was going to say. "Since I will probably be involved with the negotiations, I would like you and the children to stay in here so you will have help if you need it." He saw the look of protest on her face. "I will stay in here at night with you and come back as often as I can during the day, but I need to know you're safe and that you'll be able to rest and recover from the delivery. Missy, I was so scared when I saw how much you were bleeding after they were born. If I had lost you after losing Matthew, I don't know what I would have done." He tenderly stroked her cheek. "Please."

His plea stopped any other comment she would have made, and she smiled at him gently. "All right."

They heard a voice from the other bed. It was Mac who had stayed in the infirmary with TJ. "Thank you, Sir. I was trying to persuade TJ to stay in here too, but wasn't having much luck. She said that doctors make the worst patients."

A voice interrupted them. It was Dr. Giovanni who said, "Lieutenant Johansen is correct. I was coming over here to tell you though that your argument is pointless anyway—neither of you are going anywhere. You need more rest."

Everett and Mac gave Missy and TJ triumphant glances as Missy stuck her lower lip out at her husband in a fake pout. She then turned to TJ and said, with a grin and a wink, "I guess we'll just have to make sure they wait on us hand and foot when they are in here."

A panicked look came over Mac's face as his girlfriend nodded in agreement with Melissa. He turned to Ev and asked, "Sir, exactly what have we let ourselves in for?"

Leaning over to kiss his wife's forehead and touch the babies' heads, Ev replied, "We're gonna be waiting on them hand and foot, Lieutenant." He addressed Missy. "Baby, I'm gonna make sure I'm caught up on my paperwork." Pointing to the babies who were still vigorously feeding, he told her, "I want you to finish with them, eat yourself, and rest while they're resting. I'll be back later, okay?"

Melissa warmly smiled at her husband. "Sounds good. Love you."

"Love you too."

The two men left the infirmary after Mac said farewell to TJ. For the rest of the day, the crew prepared the ship for their probable visitors with everyone checking all of the parts of the ship that had been explored. Supplies were enhanced by the supplies on the Caprea, and cleaning was also completed in the room where they were going to be holding the negotiations. Towards the end of the day, Dr. Rush and one of the technicians from the Caprea discovered some information on one of the consoles that led them to the bridge of the Destiny. Everyone—human and Alteran—was excited about the discovery, and once Everett had seen it, he knew Missy would want to see it too. He and Mac walked back to the infirmary discussing plans to take the girls over there after they had all had dinner. When they arrived there, they saw Melissa and the babies asleep on their beds and TJ talking quietly with Dr. Giovanni. The doctor looked up when she heard them enter. "Hello Colonel, Lieutenant."

Smiling, Ev said, "Hello Doctor." He motioned to Missy and the babies. "Are they okay?"

"They are. You should know that feeding them will be all your mate will be doing for a while. It's taking a lot out of her. That's why she's asleep. She will start feeling stronger though as her body adjusts."

"Oh, okay. Will she be all right to take a short walk after dinner? We wanted to show both…" He indicated Missy and TJ. "Of them the bridge."

"That will be fine. Just make sure you bring them back here when you're done."

"Understood."

He went over to the bed, sat down, and started rubbing Melissa's back. A few moments later, she turned over and smiled when she saw who it was. "Hi sweetheart."

Everett helped her sit up giving her a hug and kiss in the process. "Hi honey. How are you feeling?"

"Still tired, but better. It's taking a lot out of me to feed them." She pointed to the babies. "The doctor said that as my body adjusts, I'll start feeling stronger."

"That's what she told me too." He scooted next to her and put his arm around her. "I don't know if you heard or not, but we found the bridge. Mac and I thought we'd take you and TJ to see it after dinner."

An excited look came over Missy's face. "Oh, that's wonderful, Everett! And, yes, I would enjoy going to see it."

"Me too!" piped up TJ from the other bed. "I'm starting to get terribly bored."

Mac rolled his eyes. "I thought we agreed earlier that you were going to stay put."

"I am, but I'm still bored."

The others laughed at their antics as Melissa grinned and winked at her friend. "TJ, you forgot. They're supposed to be waiting on us hand and foot."

"That's right." TJ gazed at Mac and batted her eyes. "Oh honey, will you get us some dinner please?"

When Missy joined her in batting her eyes, the men shook their heads bemusedly. Everett chuckled and hopped off the bed. "Let me go and ask when dinner's gonna be here." He went and spoke with Dr. Giovanni who handed him four rations and four bottles of water. Once he got back, Mac helped him sort out the food and get it passed out to everyone. The four friends and colleagues had a good time talking and laughing while they ate. About halfway through their meal, whimpers and cries were heard from the bed where the babies were. Ev helped Missy buckle the carrier on and then brought the babies to her one by one after changing their diapers. When he lifted Matthew, he tickled his stomach and asked, "Are you hungry, Matthew?" That sent the baby into excited giggles and squeals. He walked over and handed him to Melissa who had already placed Katie at one of her breasts. "Here you go, honey."

She took him and placed him at the other breast saying to her husband, "Thank you, sweetheart." The babies fed while the adults were finishing their meal. Once the adults and babies had finished eating, Missy and Ev took the babies out of the carrier and placed them on the bed. They placed the smaller slings on themselves. Then Missy turned to Everett and asked, "So, who's going with whom this time?"

Everett grinned at her. "Well, how about we switch? I'll take Katie, and you can take Matthew."

"Sounds good."

They put the babies in the slings and left the infirmary with TJ and Mac. Once the group arrived at the bridge, they found several human and Alteran crew members working at the different consoles. Missy walked up behind Dr. Rush and stared at the brightly lit panel. "This looks fascinating, Nicholas. I know you have to be ecstatic."

Gazing around at her, Rush grinned and said, "Lass, you're here. The colonel said he was gonna bring you. You won't believe what we found." He stood up and offered her the seat.

Melissa sat down and looked at the various schematics translating each of them in her head. After she realized what it said, she stared at him in amazement. "You've figured out how to open up the rest of the ship and power it."

"That's right."

The Alteran technician who was sitting at the next station spoke up. "Finding this ship is going to be revolutionary for my people. We have already gained much knowledge thought to be lost to the sands of time." He addressed Missy. "You are familiar with our language?"

"I am," said Missy with a warm smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry," apologized Nicholas. "Cyrus, this is Dr. Melissa Young, Colonel Young's mate and one of the scientists on our crew who is fluent in Alteran. Lass, this is First Technician Cyrus Lucan."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, First Technician." She held out her hand.

Cyrus gazed at her hand and then over at Rush. When he nodded, the Alteran clasped her hand and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Young." He noticed the baby sling. "Oh, I know who you are. You are one of the Alterans the Caprea was sent to find."

"Yes, that is what I understand." She folded the sling back so he could see the baby. "This is our son Matthew." She motioned to Everett who was standing behind her. "And the Colonel is holding our daughter Katherine."

"They are both beautiful children. Would you like to see what else we have found?"

After glancing back at Ev and seeing an assenting nod and smile, Melissa said, "Sure."

Cyrus and Dr. Rush spent the next few minutes showing Missy the different panels and all the things the ship was capable of doing while Mac showed TJ the other parts of the bridge. While they were looking at everything, Everett's radio came on. "Colonel Young, this is Sergeant Riley in the gate room."

Picking it up and activating it, Ev replied, "This is Young. Go."

"Sir, we just had a communication from Lieutenant Scott. General O'Neill was pleased to receive your report and will be bringing a negotiating team and a team of doctors here tomorrow morning at 0900. He said that once people were medically cleared, they could start rotating home!"

Cheers were heard in the gate room and from the human personnel on the bridge. Ev clicked his walkie once more. "Very good, Sergeant. Could you please communicate that to Commander Aurelius on the Caprea with my respects?"

"Yes, Sir."

Everett shut his radio off and looked around at everyone on the bridge. "That certainly is good news. Let's make sure everything is in order up here. I'm sure the negotiating team will want a tour. He heard his daughter gurgle and felt her squirm. Touching her head gently, he gazed down at her. "Do you want to see what's going on, Katie?" He carefully lifted her out of the sling and held her where she could see out the window.

His wife joined him there, smiling at her husband and daughter affectionately. "It looks like Katie is enjoying the view."

"I think she is." He noticed Matthew squirming and told her, "You might want to lift him out and do the same thing."

Melissa did so, and then both children squealed and batted their hands enthusiastically at the view. "I think our children are going to be space babies."

"They sure are." He gazed at his wife. "You doing okay, baby."

"I am. Just a little tired, but other than that, I'm fine." An excited expression came over her face. "Listen, I had a question. Nicholas said they were having problems with some of the translating since it's in an ancient form of Alteran and was wondering if I could help. You know, that was most of what Daniel taught me." Everett raised his eyebrows as Missy continued, "Nicholas said he could put it on a laptop and bring it to the infirmary. I know I'm supposed to rest, but it would be nice to have something to do while you're negotiating. Please." She gave him a pleading look.

Noticing that Dr. Rush and Eli had come up behind them, Ev told Rush, "Doctor, I should shoot you." He grinned and winked at him. "But I won't because Missy's right. She does better when she's occupied."

The other men chuckled as they nodded in agreement. Rush said, "I've known that of the lass since we were all on Icarus."

"And I've known it since we've all been here," said a grinning Eli. "Does anyone remember how hard it's been to get her to go take naps?"

Missy stuck out her lip in a fake pout and raised her hand. "Guys, Missy's right here." She put Matthew back in the sling.

After he put Katie back in her sling, Everett put his arm around Melissa and hugged her close to him. "We're just giving you a hard time, honey. I wouldn't want you to change a thing."

"Thanks, Ev." She turned to Dr. Rush. "I'll do whatever I can to help."

Nodding, Nicholas replied, "I'll bring the laptop to the infirmary later."

"That's fine." Ev and Missy said farewell to the other men and went to rejoin Mac and TJ. A few minutes later, they walked back to the infirmary.

Once Melissa and TJ had been settled back in their beds, Everett took each of the babies and laid them on the bed they were using as a crib. He then came back to where his wife was and sat down next to her putting his arm around her. "What can I do to help you get ready for bed?"

Missy turned and faced him, smiling at her husband tenderly. "I was hoping to be able to clean up a little bit before tomorrow as I'm sure there will be plenty of people in here."

"I can do that." He and Mac helped Melissa and TJ get ready for bed after which Mac told the others good night. Once he had left, Ev got ready for bed himself coming back to climb in the bed with Missy. He put his arms around her, giving her a hug and a kiss. "Good night, Missy. I love you."

"I love you too, Ev. Good night."

The two of them drifted off to sleep content in their love for one another and for their family. Melissa woke up the next morning when she felt her husband gently nudge her. Since she had only been up four hours earlier, she turned over and murmured, "The babies aren't crying. Why do I have to get up?"

Everett softly chuckled so he wouldn't disturb anyone else. "You don't have to get up, baby. I just wanted to tell you I was leaving. The delegation from Earth will be here in less than an hour."

Opening her eyes, his wife replied, "Oh okay. I hope things go well."

"I think they will. Now, Dr. Giovanni is going to help you with the carrier and the babies. And Dr. Rush left the laptop over there." He pointed to the night stand next to the bed and then reached down to hug and kiss her. "I'll be back later on. Love you."

"Love you too."

He turned and left the infirmary, meeting Mac and Greer outside the door. "Good morning, gentlemen. Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Sir," replied Greer. "We are spic and span. Dr. Rush, Commander Aurelius, and his team will be meeting us in the gate room. General O'Neill will be making brief remarks as to what the crew is gonna have to do in order to rotate home. Then everyone will be dismissed. We'll need to have the doctors escorted to the infirmary, and you and Commander Aurelius will meet with the team to begin the negotiations."

"Excellent." He turned to Mac. "I want you to be one of the escorts to the infirmary. When you get there, make sure Dr. Giovanni keeps an eye on Missy and the children. I know she and I have passed for human all these years, but I don't want to take any chances right now."

The lieutenant replied, "Yes, Sir. I'll take care of it."

"Thank you."

They arrived at the gate room a few moments later and noticed that several of the crew had already gathered. The room gradually filled with people having happy and excited conversations. Once the room was full, Ev looked at his watch and showed it to Mac and Greer. "It's 0900. They should be dialing in any minute."

At that moment, the chevrons of the stargate started to light up. Sergeant Riley said, "Incoming wormhole."

The crowd cheered while the chevrons lit. After they were finished lighting, the wormhole kawooshed and established itself. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then the group that was waiting saw people start to step through. The people that came through the gate were greeted with applause. A grey-haired man in his fifties approached Everett and held out his hand. "Nice to see you again, Colonel."

Shaking that hand that he was offered, Ev replied, "Likewise, General O'Neill." He greeted the people he had sent through the gate. "Nice job, Lieutenant, Miss Armstrong, Miss Wray." They nodded as he continued the introductions. Indicating the man and woman on his left, he said, "General Jack O'Neill, this is Commander Gaius Aurelius of the Alteran ship, Caprea, and his first officer, Leia Caligula."

O'Neill shook the Alterans' hands and made his own introductions. "It is a pleasure to meet you. This is my chief negotiator, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and these people are members of the International Oversight Authority which is the civilian committee that oversees anything to do with offworld travel on our planet." He pointed to the people as he introduced them. "This is the head of the committee, Edward Strom, and two of the ambassadors on the committee, Bryan Wells and Chao Li." Nodding in greeting, Aurelius shook the others' hands as O'Neill continued to speak. "The others are medical and security personnel." He gazed at Everett and the other humans. "I think the plan was for me to make a brief statement and tell the crew what they were gonna need to do to rotate home."

"That's correct, Sir."

"After that, we can begin the negotiations."

The Alteran commander replied, "We will be ready to begin when you are."

"Excellent." The general signaled for the crowd's attention. When they had quieted, he began speaking. "Good morning. I cannot tell you how happy I am to be here in my own body…" Everyone laughed. "And to be able to offer you the chance to go home. There will be just a few things that you will need to do." He motioned to one of the groups with him. "These people are doctors from the SGC. Everyone, but Dr. Ziegler, will be going to the infirmary to get set up while he and Miss Armstrong will be going to your Mess. You will need to go there to schedule a time for a physical. Once you are determined to be in good health, we will start sending people through the gate. Our doctors estimate that it will take two to three days to complete the exams. When you are back at the SGC, you will all see counselors to help you get re-acclimated. I'm estimating that you will be able to see your families in five to seven days." The group broke out in applause. "I have been in awe of the courage that each of you has displayed since you have been here and how you have banded together as a crew to make some of the most significant discoveries of our generation. Your service will not be forgotten. That is all."

The crowd applauded the end of the speech for several minutes after which they started filing out of the gate room. When most of them had left, Ev gazed at the people gathered around him and gave instructions. "Lieutenant McDonald, Sergeant Greer, I would like you to escort the doctors to the infirmary. Please have them coordinate with Dr. Giovanni on scheduling the exams. He turned to O'Neill. "Dr. Giovanni is the head doctor on the Caprea. She's been helping us out since our medic was injured in the Lucian Alliance attack."

"Very good. How many are in the infirmary right now?"

"Five, Sir, but there's plenty of room for the exams to be done too."

O'Neill nodded with approval. "Excellent. I am assuming the newest members of your crew are there. I was hoping to get a peek."

The other man grinned at him. "I thought it would be a bit much for them to be in this crowd, and Missy and the babies are still…"

A voice interrupted him. It was Edward Strom who said, with a sneer, "Don't you mean the bastard babies that you had with the whore."

Raising his eyebrows, Everett faced him squarely. "I would be very careful what you said considering that you are talking about my wife and children."

Strom gestured towards the group that had come through the gate. "We have someone with us who might feel dif…."

An angry voice came from the group. "Shut the hell up, Strom!" A tall brown-haired man with a slim dark-haired woman beside him stepped towards Ev, O'Neill, and Strom. "Yes, you heard me. Shut up! The end of my marriage is my business and NOT Homeworld Command, the SGC, or the IOA's business." He walked up and held out his hand. "Hello Everett." Seeing the other man's look of hesitation, he said, "I'm not here to hit you. You could hit me too so I just figured we could be grown-ups and move on."

An expression of relief came over Ev's face, and he shook the hand that was offered. "Hello Cameron." He then smiled at the woman who was with him. "Hello Patricia. Missy will be glad to see you."

O'Neill touched Everett's shoulder. "Before we go any further with this, I want to reduce our audience." He instructed Greer and Mac, "Sergeant, Lieutenant, please take the doctors to the infirmary." They nodded and took the group out which left Everett, Scott, O'Neill, Daniel, the IOA members, Cameron, and Patricia in the gate room. Once everyone else was done, the general turned to Strom and asked, in a clipped tone of voice, "What did President Hayes tell you?"

The IOA committee head replied, "I felt I needed to…"

"What did he tell you?"

"He said to stay out of the private business of Colonel Young, Dr. Young, and Colonel Mitchell and that their situation has no bearing on the negotiations."

"Exactly, and if you can't do that, I will dial the gate myself and toss you through it. Do you understand?"

Strom gritted his teeth. "I understand."

"Good." He gazed at Everett. "Why don't we get this thing started?"

"Of course, Sir," replied Ev. "If you would just give me one minute." He motioned to Scott, Cameron, and Patricia, and they walked a few steps away. Then he addressed the two who had come from Earth. "I'm assuming that you want to go to the infirmary to see Missy."

"Yes," said Patricia with a warm smile. "Like I told General O'Neill, I really wanted to be here for my sister when the babies were born."

"Well, the three of them are doing quite well. I'm gonna have Lieutenant Scott take you over there." He motioned to Scott. "And I'll catch up with you later."

"That's fine," said Cameron.

Scott motioned for the other two to come with him while Ev went back to the negotiating team and the Alterans. "This way, Colonel Mitchell, Dr. Somers." They left the gate room to go to the infirmary."


	13. Chapter 13

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 13

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Meanwhile, Melissa had woken up, fed the babies, and had her own breakfast. Once she had finished, she let the babies sleep in the sling while she began working on the laptop that Dr. Rush had left for her. She had just finished translating the first screen when Linda walked in and came up to her bed. "Good morning, Melissa. How are you and the little ones doing?"

Missy smiled at her friend. "They're doing great, Linda. Want to see?" She pulled the flap of the carrier back, and the older woman could see the tiny babies asleep against the new mother's chest. "Dr. Giovanni examined them earlier, and she's pleased with their progress—especially Matthew."

"Oh, that's wonderful."

"How did everything go with the people coming from Earth?"

"It went well, and I've already been to the Mess to sign up for my physical. In fact, the doctors from Earth should be in here any minute."

At that moment, they saw Mac and Greer walk in with five other people. The two men introduced the others to Dr. Giovanni, Mac quietly whispering in her ear, before walking over to the beds where Melissa and TJ were. Greer said, "Morning ladies."

"Yes, good morning," said Mac, bending down to kiss TJ. "How are, I guess I should say, the five of you doing?"

TJ grinned at her boyfriend. "We're doing fine, Mac. I'm still bored though."

Pretending to pull his hair out, Mac said, "You are trying to drive me out of my mind, aren't you, Tamara?"

Missy and TJ burst out laughing with Missy saying "Told you he'd say that."

Mac gazed at both women and when he saw he'd been had, he started laughing with them. "The two of you are nuts." He addressed Melissa, motioning to the carrier, "How are Matthew and Katie doing?"

"They're doing well." She pulled the flap back once more so the men could see. "Dr. Giovanni is pleased with their progress."

"That's great!"

The other man nudged him. "We should probably tell her who's here."

Melissa looked at both of them curiously. "Who's here?"

"Well, if I understood it correctly, one of them is your sister. I guess, your adopted sister."

An excited look came over Missy's face. "Patti's here? Oh, that's neat! Who else?"

Mac gave Greer a warning glance, but before either of them could say anything else, Lieutenant Scott entered the infirmary with Dr. Somers. They walked over to the bed, and the doctor smiled warmly at her sister. "Missy, I'm so glad to see you."

Holding her arms out, Missy replied, "I'm glad to see you too, Patti."

Patti put the bags she was carrying down and gave her sister a hug. She then noticed the carrier. "Are the babies in there? Can I take a peek?"

"Sure." She unbuttoned the flap of the carrier and opened it. "The doctor said they were doing well."

"I'm sure she's competent, but, if you would, let the OB/GYN make her own judgment." She grinned and winked at her. "Now, which one's which?"

"The one on my right is Katherine, but we're calling her Katie, and the one on my left is Matthew."

Carefully lifting each baby a few inches before putting them back down, Patti said, "Wow, Katie's pretty big. And Matthew is small, but still in the normal range. How many weeks did you go?"

"Almost 36."

"That's great for twins! Wait a minute." Patti did some quick calculations in her head. "You've been gone from Earth for that long. That means you were…" She gave Melissa an accusatory look.

Knowing what she meant, Missy closed the flap and bit her lip before replying. "I'm not proud of how they were conceived, but I'm not sorry either. I know you don't know the whole story, but…"

The expression on her sister's face hardened. "I know enough. Listen, someone came with me."

She walked to the door as Greer murmured, "Oh crap," to Mac and Scott.

A moment later, Cameron came in with Patti and went over to Melissa's bed. When she saw who it was, her eyes widened in shock, and tears started pouring down her face. He softly smiled at her. "Hey darlin'."

Swiping at her eyes unsuccessfully, Missy said, "Hi Cameron."

He sat down in a chair that was next to the bed and leaned forward brushing the tears off her face. "Missy, I didn't come here to make you cry. I just wanted to know you were okay."

"Cam, I'm…."

Reaching out to put a finger on her lips, Cameron told her, "If the next word out of your mouth was gonna be sorry, please don't."

"But Cam."

"Again, don't." He noticed the people standing around them and said, "Why don't you introduce me to your friends?"

"All right." She pointed to the people as she introduced them. "Cam, these are Lieutenants Scott, McDonald, and Johansen; Sergeant Greer; and Linda Wilson. Linda was admin at Icarus. Guys, this is Colonel Cameron Mitchell, my first husband."

The others greeted him pleasantly with Linda saying, "Let's give these two some privacy." She motioned to Patti to join them and then pulled the curtain around Melissa's bed.

Once they were gone, Cameron said, "They certainly are subtle, aren't they?"

Missy replied, "They've been good friends." She faced her former husband determinedly. "Listen, Cam, you have to let me say this at least once. I'm so sorry."

A few tears fell down his face. "I told you not to do that, darlin'. Besides, I'm not totally innocent in this mess. Like I told Everett, he could have hit me too. I still can't believe I went off and had an affair with Anna."

She touched his hand. "I heard about the baby she was pregnant with when she died. I know that had to hurt you."

Shrugging his shoulders, Cam replied, "It did, but, at that point, I knew I didn't want to be with her. I was just hoping you would forgive me. Then you guys were stuck here, and General O'Neill told me everything and showed me the file about B'aal. There's a lot you didn't tell me."

"Oh, that would have gone over well." Melissa laughed sardonically. "Tell the man I had just started dating that I was in love with my team lead, but we had been ordered to leave it in the room. I wish I had had more courage back then. Maybe I wouldn't have hurt you. But I can't deny what I feel for Everett anymore."

"I'm not asking you too." He took her hands in his. "I'm just hoping, Missy…that we can be friends."

"Of course." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You're a good man, Cameron Mitchell, a good man, and you deserve better than the likes of me."

"Well, I would have to disagree, but, enough of that." He motioned to the carrier. "May I see?"

"Sure."

She opened the flap, and he could see the tiny babies against her chest. Cameron's eyes widened with awe. "Oh wow! They're beautiful. Of course, they have a beautiful mom so that goes without saying."

Missy rolled her eyes. "You flatter me, Cam."

"You never liked being told you were beautiful the whole time we were together." He saw Katie start to stir and motioned to her. "May I?" Melissa nodded and handed him the baby. Cam cradled Katie in his arms, and when her big brown eyes opened, she grabbed his finger and cooed. "I was right. Beautiful. Which one is this one?"

"It's Katherine, but we're calling her Katie. Thank you."

At that moment, the curtain was pulled back. Patti and Linda walked to where Cameron was standing with Patti saying, "Did I hear a baby?"

"You did." Missy saw that Matthew was squirming and took him out. "This one's awake too. Would you like to hold him?"

"Sure." She took the baby from her, and they admired the babies for a few moments. Patti then motioned to the bag on the floor. "I brought you some stuff—clothes for you and for the kids."

Melissa smiled at her sister. "I appreciate that. Thank you."

"You're welcome." She looked down at the baby. "I think this one's hungry. What about the one you're holding, Cameron?"

Cam replied, "Well, she's moving her lips like she wants to suck."

"That's usually the way it works." They gave the babies back to Melissa one at a time, and she put them in the carrier where they found her breasts easily. Once they were feeding, Patti took a syringe out of the doctor bag she had brought with her. "I brought some prenatal vitamin injections with me since I figured you were probably deficient. Is it okay if I give it to you now?"

Missy gazed around her to see if she could see Dr. Giovanni and saw that she was at the other end of the infirmary. Thinking to herself that it should be okay since it was only vitamins; she held out her arm and said, "Sure." Her sister put the needle against her arm and pushed it into her. When she withdrew it, a strong wave of dizziness came over Missy. "Whoa! What was that?"

Patti put the used needle into a sterile bag and threw it into a trash can. "That can happen when you've been vitamin deficient for a while. Don't worry about it."

"Oh, okay." Melissa continued to feed the babies while the group had a pleasant time talking and laughing. When she was almost finished, Dr. Giovanni came over with rations for Missy and TJ. Motioning to her sister, Missy said, "Doctor, this is my sister, Dr. Patricia Somers."

Nodding pleasantly to Patti, Stacia replied, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Somers. Are you a member of the family that adopted Dr. Young?"

Patti gave the doctor and Melissa curious looks. "Yes, I am. How did you know my sister was adopted?"

Realizing that they had almost given the secret away, Missy hastily gave an explanation. "Dr. Giovanni was taking a medical history, and I mentioned there were some things I wasn't sure about. She didn't know what adoption was so I explained it to her."

"Oh, okay."

Giovanni gave her two patients the rations telling Missy to call her when the babies were finished. Mac and Greer then told the women farewell saying that they needed to get back to their duties. Before they left, Mac bent down to give TJ a kiss and she quietly whispered to him, "Will you tell the doctor to keep an eye on Melissa? Getting a dose of vitamins shouldn't have made her dizzy."

Gazing over at the next bed, Mac saw Missy blink her eyes and act confused. "Do you think her sister gave her something besides vitamins?"

"I don't know. That's why I want you to say something to Dr. Giovanni. I didn't learn a whole lot about obstetrics in my studies, but I'm pretty sure vitamins aren't supposed to make you dizzy."

Mac nodded briskly as he stood up. "You got it." He left with Greer after briefly speaking with Stacia.

The others stayed while Missy and TJ finished their meal and the babies finished breastfeeding. Once they were done, Lieutenant Scott turned to Colonel Mitchell. "Did you need to check in with the security team, Sir?"

"Actually, I do," replied Cameron. "Can you take me to where they are?"

"I can."

Cam looked over at Patti. "What were you planning to do, Patti?"

"I thought I would help with the physicals," said Patti, "And look after Missy and the children."

"Sounds good. I'll catch up with you later."

Patricia nodded, and Scott and Mitchell left the infirmary. She turned back to Melissa and noticed her appearance of extreme fatigue. "Are the babies done?"

Missy shook her head to get it out of the fog it was in before answering her sister. "They are. Could you and Linda put the babies back on their bed so I can lie down please? And ask Dr. Giovanni to come over here?"

"I can do that, but you don't need the other doctor. I can look after you."

Melissa answered her sister as Linda took the first baby. "Ask Dr. Giovanni to come over here please."

A voice came from behind them. It was Stacia who said, "Did I hear my name?"

"You did. I am very exhausted, and I don't know why." Linda took the second baby from Missy, and the doctor helped the new mother take off the carrier. "I was wondering if you could make sure everything was okay."

"Sure." She turned to Patti. "Dr. Somers, I think one of your colleagues wanted to speak with you." She motioned to the far side of the infirmary.

Patti looked at her for a long moment before replying. "All right. I'll be right back, Missy."

She walked off, and Dr. Giovanni pulled the curtain around the bed. "Ok, what's wrong, Melissa?"

Gazing up at the doctor and Linda with half-open eyes, Missy replied, "I'm so tired and confused. I started feeling this way a few minutes ago when I was feeding the babies. Do you know what could possibly be wrong?"

"I don't know. Let's examine you." Stacia examined her, taking her vital signs and looking at her neck, arms, and legs. When she got to the needle mark on Melissa's arm, she asked, "What's this?"

"My sister gave me a vitamin shot—said I was probably deficient." A flash of memory came to her. "Actually, that's when I started feeling this way."

Stacia shook her head. "You probably shouldn't have let her do that. Alteran physiology is slightly different from human physiology." She noticed her eyes starting to shut. "Tell you what, why don't you sleep, and I'll keep an eye on things, okay?"

"Okay." Missy's eyes slowly shut, and she drifted off to sleep.

When the doctor opened the curtain and turned to leave, she bumped into Patricia who had returned. The other woman's eyes narrowed as she asked, "What were you doing with my sister?"

Not liking the predatory look on the other woman's face, Stacia smiled as she tried not to show her suspicion on her face. "I was just giving her an exam. Listen, the delivery was pretty rough. Why don't we let your sister sleep?"

As Stacia led Patti away from the bed, she gazed over at TJ and Linda and indicated with her eyes for them to watch over Missy. TJ nodded in acknowledgement and began visiting with Linda.

For the next several hours, the infirmary was very busy as different crew members came in to get their physicals. All of the doctors were pressed into service, and even TJ was asked a few times how different devices and machines worked. Every time Patti thought about going back over to her sister, another patient came in, and she was asked to help with the exam. Once everyone had left, Patti told Stacia, "I think I'm going to check on Missy. It's just about time for the children to have another feeding."

"I'll walk with you," replied Stacia.

They began to walk over to Missy's bed and then noticed that three other people had come into the infirmary. General O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, and Everett walked up to the two women with Ev saying, "Hello, ladies. How's Missy?" He pointed to the other two men. "The general and Dr. Jackson wanted to see her and the babies."

Dr. Giovanni warmly smiled at them. "All three of them have slept for most of the afternoon."

"Yeah, I don't know how," interrupted Patti. "People have been in and out of here to get their physicals. We were just going to check on them. Let me show you the babies first." She took Jack and Daniel over to the babies' bed.

Ev was about to follow when Stacia held him back. She quietly whispered in his ear. "I need to talk to you later."

He gave her a look of concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Not sure. That's why I need to talk to you. But let's do it later." She motioned to the others, and he nodded. They walked up to the makeshift crib where the other men were admiring the babies. "So General O'Neill, what do you think?"

Jack turned to them and grinned. "They're cute—both of them. What do you think, Daniel?"

His friend replied, "Oh, I think so too. Sam, Teal'c, and Vala will be disappointed they didn't get to come."

"Well, they'll get to see them when we get this group back to Earth." He gazed at Colonel Young. "You two did good." He motioned to Missy. "And I believe her dad would have thought so too—despite everything."

Everett smiled and said, "Thank you, Sir. I think it would mean a lot if Missy heard you say it."

A voice came from behind them. It was Melissa who said, "Missy heard you. Thank you, Jack." The group standing at the bed turned around and smiled at the new mom as she propped herself up on the bed. "Hello Jack. Hi Daniel. Hi sweetheart."

Her husband walked over to the side of the bed and gave her a hug and a kiss. He took note of the dark circles under her eyes. "How are you feeling, honey?"

Missy caressed his cheek. "I'm okay. Just very tired." She looked at Stacia. "Did the babies wake up?"

"Not yet," replied Stacia.

Both Jack and Daniel came to the other side of the bed, giving her hugs and kisses on the cheek with Daniel saying, "Vala really wanted to come and see the babies, Missy. I told her you would probably let her help with the nursery when you get home."

Patti spoke up. "You can plan on lots of help. Kayla and Tessa want to help too."

Chuckling, her sister replied, "So, I guess what you are all saying is, the nursery is going to be taken care of, and I don't need to worry about it." The rest of the group laughed. She gazed at Everett. "That sounds pretty good. What do you think, Ev?"

"I think so too, baby," said Ev.

At that moment, TJ woke up from the short nap she had taken and was introduced to their two visitors. The group continued to have a good time talking and laughing as the infirmary was straightened up from all of the activity of the day. Finally, a loud gurgling sound was heard, and everyone stared at Missy. She blushed as Everett grinned and told the others, "I think Missy is ready for dinner."

"I think you're right," said Jack. He glanced at Ev. "Daniel and I are gonna head for the Mess. We'll see you in the morning for that tour of the Caprea?

"Yes Sir. At 0900?"

"Yep." The two men left the infirmary after telling the others farewell.

Patti then told Dr. Giovanni, "We brought some MRE's from Earth. I can fix some for everyone if you like."

Happy that the other woman hadn't tried to give her patient any other injections, Stacia replied, "That will be fine, Dr. Somers. Do you need any help?"

"No, I'll be fine." She left to go to the Mess and came back a few minutes later with prepared rations. When she came back, she noticed that her sister had the carrier strapped to her again. "Oh, it looks like the babies are awake."

"Yes, and I'm starving," said Missy. "I think they've both gonna have voracious appetites."

"Well, I brought you something that should help with that."

Patti handed everyone the rations, and they began eating their dinner. While they were eating, Melissa looked at her husband and asked, "So, how did everything go today?"

Ev smiled at her. "It went well. The IOA, of course, wanted to know if the Alterans had any weapons or weapon technology while Dr. Jackson wanted to know if we could have access to their historical database. Gaius and Leia managed to put everyone at ease though. I don't think it will take long. We're going on a tour of the Caprea tomorrow."

"That's good. So, there haven't been any big revelations?" She pointedly gazed at him so he would know what she meant.

Knowing what she meant, Everett shook his head. "Nope." The group continued to eat with Ev, Missy, and TJ talking about some of the planets the crew had been to since they had been on the Destiny. When the babies and the adults finished eating, Everett and Dr. Giovanni helped place the babies back on the bed while Dr. Somers helped Missy take off the carrier. After they were settled, Ev turned to Patti, "Were you assigned quarters?"

"Yes, I was," said Patti. "Lieutenant Scott was supposed to come back and show me where they were." She gazed at her sister and saw the look of utter panic on her face. "Missy, what's wrong?"

Melissa, who had rested wearily on the pillows after the carrier had been take off, had opened her eyes to see someone behind her husband that she had least expected to see. "It's…it's B'aal."

Ev jumped as he turned around—that name giving him the same nightmares that it gave his wife. He looked around bewilderedly. "Honey, there's no one there."

"But I…I…see him." She started shaking.

Coming over to the side of the bed, Everett sat down and put his arms around Missy. He then leaned back and cupped her face in his hands. "You trust me, Missy? Right?"

She gave him a quick little nod. "Yeah, I do."

"Well, trust me when I say there's no one there."

Melissa thought for a moment and then said, "Ok," bringing Ev close to her in a hug.

As he held her, the others looking on concernedly, Patti said, "I hate to tell you this, Missy, but hallucinations can be a sign of postpartum psychosis."

The other two turned angry gazes on her with Everett saying, "Not helping, Patricia. Not helping."

Patti tossed her hair. "I call it like I see it." She noticed Lieutenant Scott at the door with a few of her colleagues from Earth. "I think I'm going to call it a night." She walked out before anyone could say anything else.

After she left, Missy glanced at her husband helplessly. "Am I going crazy, Ev?"

Shaking his head, Ev answered his wife. "Nope. You're just tired from the delivery, honey, and from everything that's happened. And from having to wake up every few hours to feed the twins. You just need to rest as much as possible, and you'll be fine." He helped her lie down. "Rest some more, okay?"

"Okay." She squeezed his hand. "I love you, Ev."

He tenderly touched her cheek. "I love you too." Everett pulled the curtain around the bed and then walked to where Stacia was standing next to TJ's bed. "Okay, would either of you like to tell me what happened?"

Dr. Giovanni looked at TJ. "I know you saw the same thing I did earlier. Should we tell him? It's a very serious accusation."

TJ nodded. "You have to. Something's wrong. I can feel it. And Melissa's usually not like this."

A frustrated expression came over Everett's face. "Quit talking in riddles. This is my wife we're talking about."

"All right, Sir. This morning, when Melissa's sister came in here, she was giving her a hard time about…about…"

"Let me guess. A hard time about when the babies were conceived."

"Yes, Sir. And then she brought Colonel Mitchell in. Sir, Melissa wasn't prepped for that, but they seemed to have a good conversation. They agreed to be friends and all. I know it had to be strange for her though showing her newborn children from her second husband to her first husband."

Ev shook his head. "I told them not to surprise her like that. What else?"

"When Melissa was feeding the babies earlier, Dr. Somers took a syringe out of her doctor bag—said it was vitamins. After she injected her with it, Melissa said she was dizzy and acted confused. Sir, vitamins aren't supposed to make you dizzy."

It took Everett a moment to realize what she was saying and then a look of horror came over his face. "You think she gave her something else, don't you?"

"I do, Sir. There are several drugs that could cause dizziness and confusion. She's also been very tired ever since, and you saw where she just had the hallucinations."

Stacia spoke up. "There's also a chance it could be perfectly innocent, but it's just reacting badly with her Alteran physiology." She noticed the other two giving her pointed stares. "I know, I know. I don't believe that either—just thought we should consider everything. Colonel, in my opinion, you should go ahead and make your origins public. If anyone reacts badly, Commander Aurelius will protect you and your family."

Nodding solemnly, Ev replied, "Yes, I know. I just hate the idea that Missy has become a target."

Giving him an inquisitive look, TJ asked, "Target?"

"Yeah. Both of you are forgetting something. Who prepared Missy's ration tonight?"

The medic's eyes opened wide with horror. "Dr. Somers did, but she prepared our food too. Why weren't we affected?"

Grimly shaking his head, Ev replied, "We're not the target. Melissa is. Dammit! I bet the IOA has something to do with this."

"You're probably right, Sir." TJ gazed at Missy and the babies. "You do know that whatever Melissa was given is in the babies now, right?"

"Yes." He turned to Stacia. "Do you have anything that could flush it out of them?"

The doctor shook her head. "Not without knowing what it is. But it doesn't seem to have affected the babies as much as it has affected Melissa." She walked over to the bed where Everett was already standing and looked at the children—their faces peaceful in sleep. "Colonel, this is abhorrent to me and would be to any other Alteran—someone who would hurt a new mother and her children."

Everett nodded in appreciation. "Thank you." A look of determination came over his face. "Ok, this is what we're gonna do."

He leaned forward and spoke in quiet tones to the women for several moments. Then he called Mac on his radio and asked him to come to the infirmary explaining what had happened once he arrived. When he finished, the other man's eyes widened in shock. "I don't believe it, Sir. You know Melissa is like my sister. What do you need for me to do?"

"I want you to stay around here tomorrow. Keep an eye on Dr. Somers and anyone else who approaches Missy or the kids. Hopefully, between the three of you, they'll be protected, and we can get some proof. I am going on the tour of the Caprea with the negotiating team, and when we come back, I am going to make Missy's and my origins public. We'll see what happens after that."

The younger man nodded briskly. "Understood, Sir. I'll be back here first thing."

"Thank you. I'll see you in the morning."

Mac went to sit and visit with TJ pulling the curtain around her bed while Everett ducked back inside the curtain around Missy's bed. He stripped down to his t-shirt and boxers laying his uniform neatly on the chair beside the bed. As he climbed in the bed, his wife turned over and smiled when she saw who it was. "Hi sweetheart."

"Hi honey." He put his arms around her protectively. "Go back to sleep. I've got you."

"Okay." Missy's eyes slowly closed. "Love you, Ev."

"Love you too, Missy." The two of them drifted off to sleep content in their love for one another.


	14. Chapter 14

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 14

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

During the night, the children woke up twice, and Everett got up each time helping to change them and then take them to Melissa for their feeding. He was thankful that his wife seemed coherent both times, but was still concerned about her extreme fatigue. When he got up the next morning, he dressed and then leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. When her eyes opened part way, he said, "I'm sorry, baby. I didn't mean to wake you up."

Missy tenderly smiled at her husband. "That's okay. More negotiations?"

"Yes, and we're going on the tour of the Caprea. Listen, I want you to rest. I'll be back later."

"All right." She stroked his cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too." He kissed her once more and then went over to where Mac was talking with Dr. Giovanni. "Good morning. Are we all set?"

"Yes, Sir," replied Mac. "I'm going to stay close to the infirmary door until I see Dr. Somers come in. Then I'm going to come in and visit with TJ and Melissa."

Stacia spoke up. "And I've got several things he can help me with. We'll keep an eye on your mate, Colonel. And hopefully, we'll be able to figure out what's going on."

"Very good," said Ev. "I'll come back and check on things once the tour is done, but you call me on the radio, Mac, if anything happens. Okay?"

Mac nodded briskly. "You got it, Sir."

"Thank you." He left the infirmary to head for the Mess where Airman Becker gave him a ration. Seeing General O'Neill and Daniel Jackson sitting at a table, he walked over to join them. "Good morning, Sir. Good morning, Dr. Jackson."

Jack looked up and smiled. "Morning, Everett. How are Missy and the babies?"

Everett thought for a moment before he decided to keep the previous day's events to himself since he didn't know who knew what and since he didn't have any proof. "Doing okay. We're still getting used to getting up every few hours."

"Oh, I remember those days. Listen, now that your group is getting back to Earth, do you think Missy will want to go back to work at the SGC—after a suitable maternity leave, of course?

It took Ev a minute to process the question since he hadn't even thought about going back to Earth himself. "Don't know, Sir. I do know though that whatever either of us does, we're not gonna want to go through the gate anymore. Actually, I've been thinking about retirement."

The older man's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Everett shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. I've almost got 21 years in, and I've almost died so many times, I've lost count. I want to be there for my family. I know we didn't start off in the best way, but Missy and the children are my reason for living."

Nodding approvingly, Jack replied, "You have the right attitude. And I might be able to help you." The three men began eating.

When they finished eating a few minutes later, they headed for the air lock connecting the Destiny and the Caprea where they met the members of the IOA and the security team who were going on the tour. A tight expression came over Edward Strom's face when he saw Colonel Young. He then glanced at General O'Neill. "Are we ready to do this, General?"

The general nodded. "We are." Looking over at Ev, he said, "Go ahead and tell them we're ready."

Pulling out his walkie, the other man spoke into it. "Caprea, this is Colonel Young. We're at the air lock and ready to come over."

A voice was heard over the walkie, "Understood, Colonel. Opening the air lock now."

It opened, and the group walked through to the other side where they were greeted by Commander Aurelius and members of his crew. Gaius nodded at Everett and the general. "Good morning, Colonel. Good morning, General."

"Good morning, Commander," said Ev.

Aurelius glanced at O'Neill. "We are pleased to welcome the first group from another galaxy onto the Caprea. Let us begin our tour." The men and women from Earth followed the Alterans into the ship gaping at all the different kinds of technology they saw—some of which they were familiar with and some of which they were not.

Meanwhile, back in the infirmary, Melissa and the children had all woke up. When Dr. Giovanni noticed that she was awake, she walked over and smiled at her warmly. "Good morning, Melissa. How are you feeling?

Missy smiled wanly. "Still tired, but not quite as bad." She propped herself up on the pillow. "Are the children awake yet?"

"They're just starting to stir. Let me help you get the carrier on and then I'll go get them for you."

"Thank you."

The doctor helped her slip on the carrier and then brought the babies to her one by one. Once Missy had settled Katie and Matthew inside the carrier, Stacia asked her, "Are you hungry? I've got some more of those caro sandwiches you liked."

"Oh yes. I'm starving."

"Great!"

She got her the food, and the new mom ate while her babies were feeding. As Melissa ate, she saw TJ sitting up and greeted her. "Morning TJ. How are you feeling?"

Gazing at her friend, TJ grinned and said, "Hi Melissa. I'm feeling pretty good. In fact, Dr. Giovanni said I could do some light work later if I behaved myself."

Chuckling, Missy said, "Those would be the operative words, wouldn't they? A wistful expression came over her face. "I wish I felt better. Sometimes I don't think I'll ever get my energy back."

"How are you feeling?"

"Still very tired, and I wish…Well, I wish Everett wasn't having to be gone now. I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed too."

TJ cautiously stood up and walked over to Melissa's bed. She patted her on the shoulder and told her, "You'll feel better soon. And I don't think what the Colonel's doing is gonna take too long."

The other woman nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, you're right. I think I'm just gonna rest this morning and not do any translating."

"That sounds like a good idea."

TJ sat back on her bed, and the two women continued to eat their breakfasts. As they were finishing a few minutes later, Patti walked in carrying a tray. She came up to Melissa's bed. "Good morning, Missy. I got you some breakfast."

Missy smiled at her sister. "Morning, Patti. Dr. Giovanni beat you to it. I've already finished."

Turning as she heard Stacia approach, Patti gave her a venomous stare before turning back to her sister. "You do need lots of calories now. You could eat this too."

Melissa shook her head. "Naah. I'm not hungry now. Maybe later."

Holding out her hands, Dr. Giovanni said to Patti, "Go ahead and give me that, and I'll put it up for her."

The other doctor looked at her for a long moment. "All right." She handed her the tray and then sat down to visit with her sister.

As Stacia walked over to the desk she was using, she passed Mac. Leaning over to him, she whispered, "Pretend to trip me so I'll drop this."

He nodded and stuck out his foot. She pretended to trip and dropped the tray letting out a little scream as the food scattered everywhere. Mac steadied her and said, "Oh my goodness, ma'am. I am so sorry. Let me clean that up for you." Both of them looked around and saw that they had attracted the attention of everyone in the infirmary including Dr. Somers who gave them a stare of pure hatred before disguising the look on her face and turning back to her sister. Dr. Giovanni got some cleaning supplies out, and she and Mac began to clean up the mess. While they were cleaning, Mac whispered, "You do know we've made ourselves targets now, right?"

"Yes I know, and there's one other thing we didn't consider."

Mac gazed at her curiously. "What's that?"

"We don't know who else we can trust besides Lieutenant Johansen."

"You're right. Do you want me to get Sergeant Greer and some of the other Destiny marines in here?"

"Not yet. Let's see what she does."

Mac nodded, and the two of them finished cleaning up the mess. They then walked back over to Missy and TJ's beds with Mac saying, when they got over there, "Good morning, ladies." He gave TJ a kiss and touched Missy's shoulder. "How is everyone this morning?"

"We're doing okay, Mac," replied TJ.

"Yes, we are," said Melissa with a warm smile. She pointed to the carrier. "The babies are almost done." Looking inside, she saw that they had fallen asleep. "Well, I guess they are done. Anyone want to hold a baby?"

"Sure," said Mac.

Mac and Patti each took a baby and laid it back on the bed while Stacia helped Melissa take off the carrier. After they were finished, everyone stood around and visited with the two patients. A few minutes later, Stacia noticed some of the doctors from Earth and the Destiny crew coming into the infirmary. She asked Patricia, "So, how many exams got done yesterday?"

The other doctor replied, "About 25. The people back home want these exams to be as detailed as possible, or we could have done more yesterday."

"I understand." She indicated Mac with her hand. "I recruited Lieutenant McDonald to help your orderly today. Should make things go faster."

A haughty look came over Dr. Somers' face. "Don't you mean it will go faster if he can stay on his feet?"

Mac chuckled sardonically. "Oh, that was just me being clumsy, ma'am. Won't happen again."

"Well, see that it doesn't." She gazed at Missy. "I'll come and check on you later, Missy." She walked off to talk with one of her colleagues.

When she left, Melissa looked at the other three who were still there and asked, with a quizzical expression on her face, "What's going on?"

"Oh, she's just upset that I made Dr. Giovanni drop the tray," said Mac. "She'll get over it."

"Oh okay." Missy lay back down on the bed. "I think I'm going to rest some more."

"I think that's a good idea," said Stacia. "We'll let you know when the babies wake back up." Missy nodded and closed her eyes.

That began a very busy morning for everyone in the infirmary. Stacia and TJ assisted the other doctors with the physicals as needed while Mac helped with whatever he was asked to do. They all kept an eye on Melissa though and stayed in the same general vicinity so they could see if anyone tried to approach her. Finally, TJ got tired, and Mac walked with her back to her bed. "Okay, time for you to rest now."

TJ accepted his help gratefully. "Thank Mac." She got back in the bed and propped herself up with the pillows. Pointing to Missy, she told him, "I'm glad she's able to sleep. She would probably rest better in her quarters if someone was there to help her."

"You're probably right. I'm sure the Colonel would like this to be done and over with."

A voice came from behind them. It was the orderly whose name was Sergeant Jones. "Excuse me, Lieutenant. Can I get your help to move some equipment?"

"Sure."

They rolled a piece of equipment out of the infirmary and down the hallway with the sergeant saying, "Dr. Ziegler and Dr. Brightmann wanted to see if we could open up another room for exams."

"That sounds like a good idea."

After they took the equipment into a room which was down a deserted side corridor, they went back out into the hallway. Jones, who had let Mac get ahead of him, said, "Of course, there was another reason I wanted to get you out here."

Mac slowly turned around, suddenly realizing he had made a mistake. "What's that?"

He saw Jones holding a gun on him. "To get you out of the way." The man pulled the trigger, and Mac felt a sudden pain in his chest as the bullet struck him. He fell to the floor—the world starting to go back. Jones pulled him to a place where he was partially concealed from the main hallway and then leaned down to his face and said, "Nothing will interfere with our mission. Before the end of the day, Melissa Young and her children will be dead." The sergeant saw Mac's eyes shut and nodded with satisfaction. He then walked back to the infirmary.

In the meantime, Stacia had come over to examine Melissa and saw that she had opened her eyes. "Hi Doctor. How am I doing?"

Stacia smiled at her patient. "You tell me. How are you feeling?"

"About the same. Why am I so exhausted?"

"Well, a lot of it is because you just gave birth, and there's also the…"

A voice interrupted her. It was Dr. Ziegler who said, "I apologize for interrupting, Dr. Giovanni. I was wondering if you could help me with a patient."

Nodding pleasantly, Stacia replied, "Of course, Doctor. Melissa, I'll be right back." She walked over to the other side of the infirmary.

While she was gone, Missy gazed around the infirmary and noticed TJ asleep in the next bed and Dr. Rush and Linda Wilson at a bed three beds down from hers. She was about to call out to them when she saw her sister and an orderly approach her bed. "Hi Patti. What's going on?"

Patti sneered at the new mom. "I am so glad I do not have to pretend to like you or your brats anymore."

Melissa's eyes opened wide in astonishment. "Patti?"

Motioning for the orderly to hold her arms down, Patti got a syringe out of her pocket. "You see, the plan was to make everyone think you'd gone crazy and that you needed to be institutionalized. Of course, that would have distracted the Colonel, and we could do what we really came here to do which was to steal the Destiny. But, you have too many people watching you so now you and your children are going to be neutralized."

Her sister struggled against Jones' hold. "No, no, don't hurt my babies. Help! Help!"

A voice was heard from the next bed. It was TJ who sat up and started to get out of the bed. "What are you doing? Leave her alone. Looking over the orderly's shoulder, Patricia, motioning to TJ, told Jones, "Get her quiet. I don't want anything interfering with this."

Jones nodded and backhanded the other woman who hit the bed railing and crumpled to the floor. The doctor then turned back to Missy and saw where she was trying to reach a button on the other side of the bed. "Dammit, Jones. She's trying to call for help. Take care of it." He slapped her hard, and her body fell back on the bed with the side of her head hitting the railing. When she saw blood pouring from the wound, Patti nodded with satisfaction. "That will be just as good as anything else. Now, we need to take care of the children." She walked over to the baby bed and started to inject the syringe's contents into Matthew. "Time for you to die."

At that moment, she was tackled by someone from behind. It was Nicholas Rush who said, "You leave those babies alone!" Both of them fell to the ground struggling with one another.

The orderly, seeing that they had attracted unwanted attention, pulled out a P-90 and started shooting it indiscriminately around the infirmary. Medical personnel and crew members dived for cover trying to avoid being shot. Finally, two things happened that brought the carnage to a halt. First, Dr. Somers, who had been fighting Dr. Rush ferociously, knocked him to the ground and ran over to where Dr. Ziegler was concealed. She said, "Things have gone sour. Let's get out of here.

The other doctor nodded, and the two of them ran to the infirmary entrance where they managed to sidestep Sergeant Greer and Eli and ran out into the hallway. "What the hell!" exclaimed Greer. Seeing the other man who was still firing, he told Eli, "Stay here! I've got to disarm him."

After he saw Eli indicate he had heard him, Greer made his way to where Jones was still shooting and tackled him to the ground. The gun clattered harmlessly to the wall, and he and Lieutenant Peterson cuffed Jones' arms behind his back. Dazed people started coming out of concealment as Greer asked, "What happened?"

Stacia came out of hiding. "That man just started shooting. I think Dr. Young and her children were the targets. You need to catch the people who just left here."

"Understood." He motioned to Sergeant Reynolds and Sergeant Carter who had just hurried into the infirmary carrying Mac's body. "We found him in the hallway." Dr. Giovanni motioned for them to put him on a bed as Greer continued, "Who are we looking for?"

"Dr. Somers and Dr. Ziegler."

Greer's eyes widened in shock. He pointed to Missy. "Dr. Young's sister?"

"Yes." She looked around at the other doctors. "Come on. We need to triage the patients." They started to hurry around to the people lying on the floor and assessing their injuries.

While she was doing this, Greer had the military personnel and Eli gather around him. He told Reynolds and Carter, "Get a squad after those dirt bags, and let Lieutenant Scott know. I'll keep in touch with what I find out."

"Yes, Sir." They hurried out of the infirmary.

Eli then saw Nicholas slumped against a wall. "Dr. Rush." The two men hurried over to him. "What happened?" They helped him sit up.

The older man spoke through swollen lips. "Those people tried to inject something into the lass, but she fought them hard. The man slapped her and made her hit her head on the railing. We saw it at the last minute. I told Linda to hide, and I snuck up behind Dr. Somers while she was injecting the baby. Help me up."

They helped him up, and the men walked over to the bed Missy was sprawled on. Noticing the blood coming out of her head, Greer hastily went to get a cloth and started applying pressure. Rush sat on the other side of the bed and took her hands in his, noticing how pale she was. "Lass, lass, are you okay?"

Melissa opened her eyes part way and saw dim figures above her. She struggled to speak. "Ni…ck."

"Yes, lass, it's me. What happened?"

"Patti….and the…..other….man …..hurt me. My…head….hurts."

"I know. You're gonna be okay."

Her eyes widened with alarm as she remembered the last thing she had heard Patti say. "My…babies. Are….they….okay?"

Eli spoke up. "The doctors are checking everyone over."

Feeling her world start to go black, Missy said the one word she most wanted to say. "Everett?"

Rush spoke up once more with tears in his eyes. "We're gonna get him, lass."

"Tell…..him…..love…..him…..always." Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she started having a seizure.

"No, lass, you tell him yourself."

Two of the doctors ran over, one of them taking the cloth from Greer. "We need to look at her. Back up please."

The men backed up and went over to where Peterson and another airman were holding Jones. Greer addressed him furiously, "Who's responsible for this?"

Jones sneered. "I don't have to tell you nothing, jarhead."

Getting in his face, Greer spoke slowly and sinisterly. "So, you know what I am. Do you know what happens when someone hurts a Marine's sister? I will do that to you, and then I will let these four mop up what's left if you don't tell me." He addressed the other men. "You interested in helping me tear him apart?"

Nicholas glanced over and saw Linda's still form being examined on a table and then looked at Missy who was on another table. An expression of raw hatred and anguish came over his face. "Sergeant, I will do whatever you need me to do."

"Good." He gazed back at Jones. "So?"

Jones looked around at the five men who wore identical expressions for a long moment and then decided, as he was truly a coward, to start talking. "All right. I'm not going to take the sole fall for this." He started telling them the information they needed to know.

A few moments later, Greer walked over to Stacia who had started operating on Mac. "Ma'am, I found out who's responsible for this. It's much bigger than Dr. Somers. There are several people on the Caprea who need to be detained."

Dr. Giovanni nodded grimly. "I thought that might be the case. Get me my radio. I need to get more medical personnel and supplies over here anyway." Greer walked to the desk and brought back a small handset. "Turn it on and hold it up so I can keep working on Lieutenant McDonald." He did so, and she spoke into it. "Dr. Giovanni to Commander Aurelius."

The commander's voice was heard. "Aurelius here. What can I do for you, Doctor?"

Stacia's voice caught in her throat. "There's been a mass shooting in the infirmary, Sir. I need more medical personnel, supplies, and an Elite Squad to stand guard."

"What! Who's responsible?"

"Someone from Earth. We have one in custody, two on the loose, and several people on the Caprea who need to be detained."

"Understood. Help is coming. How many injured?"

Gazing around and quickly counting, she said, "We have twelve being worked on, two casualties, and several minor injuries. I'm working on someone myself. Listen, I'm going to let Sergeant Greer tell you who you need to detain."

"Understood."

Stacia indicated for Greer to speak, and he started speaking. "Sir, I believe all of these people are there. You need to detain: Edward Strom, Bryan Wells, Chao Li, Lieutenant Stephenson, Captain Nelson, and Miss Wray."

"Done. Colonel Young wants to speak with you and get a list of the injured."

"All right."

Ev's voice was the next that was heard. "Who's been hurt, Sergeant?"

"Sir, it looks like a war zone over here." He motioned to Eli to look at the different tables. "One moment." He then started naming names as Eli whispered them to him. "Dr. Volker, Dr. Park, Mr. Brody, Sergeant Harper, Lieutenant Colson, Ms. Wilson, Lieutenant James, Lieutenant McDonald, two members of the Lucian Alliance, your wife, and…" He hesitated as he looked over at the baby bed. When he saw Dr. Brightmann put her thumb up and mimic a scratch, he continued, "That's it. They tried to hurt Matthew, but Dr. Rush prevented it. There are also several minor injuries and two casualties—Airman Schulz and Sergeant Baker."

"Oh God!" Everett's voice cracked. "What about Katie?"

Greer looked back at the baby bed and saw where Chloe had picked her up. "She's fine, Sir." He smiled briefly as he watched Chloe and Eli attempt to comfort the crying children.

"Good. Is Missy conscious?"

"She was for a minute, but not anymore."

Rush grabbed the radio and spoke into it. "Colonel, your name was the last one the lass spoke. Said she loved you."

The next time they heard Ev's voice it was strangled. "Hold the radio next to her ear, please."

Walking to the opposite side of Missy's bed from where the doctor was working, Rush held the radio next to her ear. "I'm here, Colonel."

Everett began speaking. "Missy, its Everett. I'm coming, baby. You hold on, okay? I love you too." He then spoke to Greer and Rush again. "We're coming right now."

"Yes, Sir," said Greer. He shut the radio off and put it back on the infirmary desk. The men stood quietly and watched the doctors work on their patients while they waited for the others to come.


	15. Chapter 15

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 15

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Several minutes later, Colonel Young, Commander Aurelius, General O'Neill, Dr. Jackson, Colonel Mitchell, and several Alterans came rushing in to the infirmary. The Alterans who were medical personnel went to get instructions from Dr. Giovanni while everyone else approached Greer and Rush. Ev commanded, "Sergeant, report!"

Greer responded, "Sir, I told Reynolds and Carter to get a squad and hunt for Somers and Dr. Ziegler. They were supposed to let Lieutenant Scott know too."

"Excellent! He nodded with approval, and Commander Aurelius gave his men instructions to join the search. While he was doing that, Everett walked over to the bed Missy was laying on—a look of anguish on his face. He took note of the bandage on her head which was seeped with blood and breathed deeply to control his emotions. "What happened to her?"

Rush came up beside him. "Dr. Somers tried to inject her with something. The lass fought really hard, but the man that was with Somers slapped her, and she hit her head on the railing. I was three beds down. I couldn't get over here to prevent it. But, then I saw Somers go for the babies and heard her say that since the lass had people watching her, their first plan of making us all think she was crazy wasn't going to work and that they had decided to neutralize all three of them. I told Linda to hide and snuck up behind Somers as she was starting to inject Matthew. I tackled her, and that's when the other man started shooting." A sob of anguish came from his throat. "Why? The lass hasn't done anything to anyone."

Daniel spoke up. "Because they didn't want to share. The IOA was going to steal the Destiny out from under the Alterans' noses. Strom was just going to make us all think Missy was crazy, but decided last night she had too many people watching her. So, they decided murdering her and the children would be better." He faced Jack furiously. "This is NOT the legacy George Hammond left. I hope President Hayes can do something about this."

A fierce anger came across O'Neill's face. "I will make damn sure of it." His eyes narrowed as he gazed over at Everett. "You had people watching Missy? Did you know something?"

Turning to face the general, Ev replied, "Didn't know. Suspected. We were trying to get proof. She hallucinated B'aal last night after she ate dinner—a dinner that was probably drugged." He punched his other hand in frustration. "Dammit, I shouldn't have left her! That head wound looks really bad." He squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn't cry.

"It does." O'Neill noticed Peterson and the other airman holding Jones between them. "Is that the man responsible for the shooting?"

"Yes, Sir," said Greer. "And you've already heard what Dr. Somers did. I think Dr. Ziegler was just supposed to be a distraction."

"All right." He turned to Aurelius. "Can he be housed on your ship? I want him away from the gate until the other two are caught."

Gaius nodded; a look of fury upon his face. "Of course." He motioned to two of his men to take Jones away. Then he turned back to Jack. "General, I can see by the look on your face that you knew nothing of this. I will tell you though that my government will be incensed by this horrific act. Greed and the ability to inflict pain and suffering of this nature especially on a new mother and her children is anathema to any Alteran."

General O'Neill responded solemnly. "I understand. Please know that there are good people on our world and that the people who are responsible for this will be punished. Murder and attempted murder are taken very seriously on our planet. But there's something I don't…."

Another voice interrupted him. It was Cameron Mitchell who said, "All of you are forgetting something."

Gazing at him confusedly, O'Neill said, "What are you talking about?"

"I'd like to know that too," said Ev who had sat down next to Missy's bed and taken her hand in his.

"Well," said Cam, "don't you remember how excited Patricia has been about the babies? And Kayla and Tessa? After she made sure I was okay with everything, that was all any of them talked about—how they were gonna help Missy, what they wanted the nursery to look like. I cannot believe she would participate in anything like this. You guys have known her longer than I have. Do you believe it?"

Daniel and Jack gave each other knowing stares before Daniel answered Cam's question. "I was wondering about that myself. It almost seems…."

At that moment, Everett's radio sounded. "Colonel Young, this is Riley in the gate room. Come in please."

Ev took the radio off of his belt and toggled it. "This is Young. Go."

"Sir, the stargate just activated, and two people came through from Earth. One is Teal'c, and the other is a woman who he says is the real Dr. Patricia Somers."

There was a collective gasp from everyone in range of the radio, and O'Neill motioned for Young to give it to him. He did so, and the general spoke into it. "Sergeant, this is General O'Neill. Tell Teal'c I will be there momentarily, and get on the radio to let Lieutenant Scott know that one of the people they are looking for is in possession of a mimic device. That means, if it's turned off, she will look different than she looks now."

"Understood, Sir."

The radio went silent, and Daniel said, "I knew it. I knew it had to be a mimic device. The IOA must have figured out how to backward engineer one."

"Yep," said O'Neill. "Okay, I want you and Mitchell to come with me." He touched Everett's shoulder and waited until the other man, his eyes filled with tears, turned to him. "I'm guessing you're gonna want to stay here."

Ev replied, "Yes, Sir." He motioned to Melissa. "I have to be here when she wakes up."

"All right." He spoke to Aurelius. "You're welcome to come with us, and we can jointly direct the efforts."

The commander said, "I will be there in just a moment." O'Neill nodded, and he, Jackson, and Mitchell left. When they were gone, Gaius asked Stacia, who had just come over to consult on Dr. Brightman's examination of Missy, "do we know the extent of her injuries?'

"Yes," said Stacia. "We found a scratch on this arm." She motioned to the zigzag mark on Missy's left arm. "Our guess is she fought what they were doing, and they slapped her to make her fall back on the bed. When she fell, she hit the railing here." She indicated the bed railing where they could see some blood. "And hit her head. The head wound is severe. She has a concussion, and there is a possibility of brain damage."

"Understood. What about the children?"

"They're both fine. We did find an almost full syringe next to the baby bed. I think Dr. Brightman called it Adderall."

Everett's eyes opened in horror. "That's an anti-psychotic!"

"Yes Sir," said Brightman. "If Dr. Rush hadn't gotten to your son when he did, he would be dead." She motioned to the children who were still being held by Eli and Chloe. "They're both very lucky."

"They are." He glanced at Rush, his face full of emotion. "Thank you, Doctor, for saving my son's life."

"You're welcome," said Nicholas with just as much emotion. "You know, it's funny, when we came here, I had my heart locked away because of Gloria's death. And I wasn't gonna let anyone in either. I just wanted to explore the Destiny. But then, the lass wormed her way in, and Linda did too. And now, I have purpose and love in my life. I owe you just as much thanks." He placed a hand on Ev's shoulder in support.

Gaius interrupted, speaking to Stacia, "Thank you for the update, Doctor." He turned to Young. "Can I speak with you, Colonel? Ev followed him to the corner where he told him, "I just wanted to tell you the offer of asylum is still good."

Swiping at the tears on his face, Everett replied, "I am very strongly considering it. I have to see how this plays out."

"I understand. I'll keep in touch." He left the infirmary to join the others.

Everett then walked over to Eli and Chloe. He indicated for Eli to hand him Matthew and once he did, the baby quieted, almost like he knew who was holding him. "I'm so glad you're okay." He reached over and touched his daughter's head. "And you too, munchkin." Struggling not to cry, he continued, "We have to be strong for Mama, okay? She's the glue that holds us together." A thought came to him, and he looked over at Dr. Giovanni. "What are we going to do about feeding them until Missy's conscious?"

Caught off-guard, Stacia didn't say anything for a moment. Then she glanced around the infirmary at the people working and snapped her fingers. "I knew there was another reason I wanted her over here." She called out to a person working at the other end of the infirmary. "Specialist Gemini, can you come over here please?"

A slim dark-haired woman made her way over to them. When she arrived, she asked, "What can I do for you, Doctor?"

"I had a question for you. Your blood type is AB 12, right?"

"Yes ma'am. Do you need a blood donation?"

"No, I need a mother's milk donation." She turned to Everett. "We have a way of activating mother's milk so Alteran women can feed children whose mothers have been injured. She has a compatible blood type so it would be possible." She turned back to the woman in front of her and introduced her to Ev. "Specialist Christiana Gemini, this is Colonel Everett Young." The doctor pointed to the bed Missy was on. "And that is his wife Melissa. She just gave birth three days ago, and she was one of the ones injured today. I know they would appreciate your help."

"Of course, Doctor." Christiana motioned to the babies. "They are both adorable, and I would be honored, Colonel."

Everett replied, "Thank you, Specialist." He handed her Matthew, and she gently placed him back on the baby bed with his sister who Chloe had just placed on the bed. Dr. Giovanni then took the specialist to another bed to begin the process. While she was doing that, Ev looked at Missy who had two wires coming out of her right arm and a thick bandage on her head wound. He asked Dr. Brightman, who had just finished hooking the last one up, "Can I hold her hand?"

"Of course," said Brightman with a sad smile. "Those are just giving her nutrients and medicine for the pain."

He nodded in appreciation, and she left to examine another patient. Taking his wife's hand in his, he squeezed it and said, "I'm here, honey. Remember how you always tell me you feel safer when I'm here. Well, I'm not gonna leave you now. You're gonna be okay. You have to be." He choked back a sob. "We need you. Me, Katie, and Matthew. Nothing else matters. Nothing. I love you, baby, with all my heart and soul."

Greer, who had still been standing there with the others, said, "Sir, I think I'll check in with the search teams. I'll let you know how it's going."

"Thank you, Sergeant."

The other three also said farewell and left Ev alone with his thoughts. For the next several hours, he watched as the doctors worked on their patients—his heart aching with everything that had happened that day and knowing that it would hurt his wife terribly to find out she had been the cause. He thought of what Commander Aurelius had said and knew that his offer would be the best chance to keep his family safe. At one point, he heard a noise from the next bed and saw TJ start to wake up. When he saw her eyes fully open, he stood up and went to her bedside. Placing his hand on her arm, he said, "Hey TJ. Don't move too fast. The doctor said you hit your head again."

TJ blinked her eyes several times before focusing on him. "Whoa! Sir, what happened? The last thing I remember was seeing Dr. Somers and another man trying to inject Melissa with something and threatening to do the same to the babies." She noticed all the beds close to her were full. "What happened?"

A look of sorrow appeared on Everett's face. "Missy fought them injecting her, and they threw her back on the bed—made her hit her head on that railing. The doctors say she has a bad concussion, and there's a possibility of brain damage. There was a lot of bleeding. The woman that was posing as Somers tried to inject Matthew too, but Rush saved him. During their fight, her accomplice took a P-90 out and shot up the infirmary. Two dead, twelve serious injuries, and several minor injuries. They said Missy had some seizures too, and they won't know what kind of damage there is until she wakes up.

"Oh my God! Sir, I am so sorry. I tried…I tried to help her. He must have hit me."

"I know you did. It's okay."

TJ was silent for a moment trying to comprehend everything. Then she said, "Wait a minute. You said the woman posing at Dr. Somers."

"Yeah, apparently there was some kind of IOA plot to get Missy and the babies out of the way so they could steal the Destiny. But, when I had you guys start watching them, they decided to try and kill them instead. Her real sister is here now."

"Oh no!" She looked around frantically. "Where's Mac?

"Mac was hurt." He motioned to a bed that was two beds down from where they were. "They found him in the hallway with a bullet wound in his chest."

Tears started pouring down her face, and she sat up on the bed. She reached out her arm to him. "Help me, please."

Everett looked around uncertainly. "TJ, you shouldn't be getting up."

The medic gave him a pleading look. "Please, Sir. Would you let anyone keep you from Melissa?"

Sadly smiling at her, he said, "That's not fair, but you're right—I wouldn't." He helped her out of the bed and walked with her over to Mac's bed where he found a chair and helped her sit down.

They watched his unconscious body for a moment. TJ then asked, "How did the surgery go? Did the bullet nick any vital organs?"

A voice came from behind them. It was Dr. Giovanni who said, "I was able to repair all the damage. He's going to be fine." She raised her eyebrows. "What are you doing out of bed?"

TJ and Ev looked at her guiltily as TJ replied, "I wanted to sit with him." She pointed to Mac. "I don't know if you figured it out, but he's my baby's father."

Stacia put her hand on TJ's shoulder. "I did, and you may sit with him. Just make sure someone's helping you back to your bed when you get tired."

"All right. Thank you."

"You're welcome." The doctor gazed at Everett. "May I speak with you, Colonel?"

"Sure," said Ev. They walked back over to Missy's bed. "What's going on?"

She motioned to Dr. Brightman who was working on a patient a few beds down. "I believe she is beginning to suspect something with regard to your mate's medical treatment. I know you haven't had a chance to speak of your true origins with anyone. It would be helpful though if one of your physicians knew so we could veto any treatment that might be detrimental."

Everett stared at the other doctor for a long moment before speaking out loud. "She's been pretty level-headed when she's come here. That's fine—as long as she doesn't tell anyone else."

"All right." She started to leave, but stopped when she saw him act like he wanted to ask another question. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to know. How is Missy really doing?"

Stacia gazed over at Melissa's bed before answering. "About as well as can be expected. She's not in any pain, but we really won't know anything else until she wakes up."

A haunted expression came over Everett's face. "I understand."

Giving him a sympathetic look, the doctor told him, "We have special doctors on Altera that help people with brain damage reach the fullest potential they can. I know you haven't decided about coming with us yet, but the benefits to your mate would be tremendous."

"Actually, can you keep a secret?"

"Sure."

After what happened today, I know I can't protect them on Earth. When Missy wakes up, if she can understand, I'm gonna tell her I want us to go with you."

Nodding her head approvingly, Dr. Giovanni said, "I think that is very wise, and I will not speak of it again until you are ready."

"Thank you." Dr. Giovanni walked off to speak with Dr. Brightman while Everett went to sit back in the chair next to Missy's bed. He took her hand in his. "Missy, all I want is to see your eyes open. I promise you, I will take care of you and our babies. I love you." He laid his head down trying to rest amidst all of the chaos. A few hours later, Ev was startled by the touch of a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see four figures looking at him. "What's going on?"

Sergeant Greer replied, "We caught them, Sir. Cornered the fake Somers and Ziegler near the bridge. They're in custody now—a little roughed up—but they're in custody."

Ev nodded with satisfaction. "Thank you, Sergeant." He started to get up. "I want to go see them."

Placing his hand on his shoulder, General O'Neill said, "Can't let you do that, Colonel."

The other man faced him determinedly. "And why not? What those two have done has more than likely caused my wife to have brain damage. And their accomplice killed and hurt many of our friends. Did you know that one of the people killed was pregnant?"

A sad expression came over O'Neill's face. "No, I didn't."

"Yeah, Sergeant Baker's baby was gonna be a playmate for Katie and Matthew. She and Missy already had it set up. They were gonna share everything." He gazed back at his wife. "Missy is gonna be devastated."

"I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am, Everett. Today has been a real tragedy, but I still can't let you see the prisoners."

Commander Aurelius, who was standing next to O'Neill, said, "General, you have them housed on my ship. If Colonel Young wishes to see them, he may. In our culture, family members have the right of vengeance."

Glancing over at him, Jack said, "Please don't, Commander. It will just make my job more difficult."

"Enough!" yelled the woman behind them. "All of you are focused on the wrong thing."

Gazing past the other men to see who the woman was Everett said to O'Neill, "I am guessing that is the real Patricia."

"It is," said Jack.

Patti, tears pouring down her face, said, "Everett, they told me someone with my face hurt Missy and tried to hurt her baby. You can't begin to know what that is doing to me. I was kidnapped from my house. Cameron had picked me up from work, and I wanted to go by the house to pick up the stuff I had bought. They knocked me out and took me somewhere else. Kept me prisoner for two days. Then they let me go. Said it wouldn't matter because Missy and the children were dead. I went home and found Mike, and he ran me up to the mountain. It took forever, but Teal'c and Vala were finally able to persuade General Landry to have blood work done after telling him about the mimic device. Once the results were back, Teal'c brought me here." She gazed at her sister. "That head injury looks bad. What is her prognosis?"

"They have her sedated and are giving her pain meds," replied Ev. "We really won't know the extent of the damage until she wakes up."

Walking up and touching her sister's hand, Patti then turned back to him and said, with a sorrowful expression on her face, "More than likely, she will need to be institutionalized; at least for a while so she can relearn some basic skills. And she will probably never be able to do what she did at the mountain again."

Everett faced her fiercely. "No! I will take care of my wife and children. She doesn't need to go anywhere."

Jack touched his shoulder. "Everett, she didn't mean that. You'll be involved with every step of the process. And when Missy's better able to manage, you can find a house. You told me earlier you wanted to retire. Between your retirement pay and the disability pay I'll make sure Missy gets, none of you will want for a thing. It's the least I can do. I promised her dad."

The other man thought for a long moment and then decided that it was not the right time for their secret to come out. "Well, first, she has to wake up."

"You're right. We'll keep in touch." He and the others left the infirmary leaving Ev alone with his thoughts once more.


	16. Chapter 16

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 16

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Everett woke up the next morning, sore and stiff, from the night he had spent in the chair next to Missy's bed. He gazed at his wife who looked small and pale against the white sheets. Stroking her cheek, he told her, "Morning, honey. I'm here. Are you doing okay?" He waited for a moment, and then, seeing that there wouldn't be any response, continued, "Well, at least you're not in any pain. Don't worry about Katie and Matthew. One of the people on the Caprea's crew volunteered to feed them until you're conscious. The Alterans actually have a way to activate mother's milk. Pretty nifty, huh? So, all you need to do is wake up. I've got everything else under control." He felt a touch on his shoulder and turned to see Dr. Giovanni. "Good morning, Doctor."

"Good morning, Colonel," said Stacia with a warm smile. "How's she doing?"

"About the same. Can you tell me anything else medically?"

"Well, let's see." The doctor gave Melissa a careful exam. "She's resting comfortably, and the swelling has gone down some. That's good. Hopefully, she might become a little more responsive today."

"I hope so."

They heard a voice behind them. It was Commander Aurelius who said, "Good morning, Colonel. Good morning, Doctor."

"Good morning, Commander. What's going on?"

"Well, I've been talking with your General O'Neill, and I think we've come to an agreement to let you see the prisoners. Are you still interested?"

A determined look came over Ev's face. "Yes, I am." He glanced at Stacia. "If you'll watch Missy for me."

"Of course," said Stacia. "We have an Elite Squad outside. Nothing else is going to happen."

"All right." He motioned towards the facilities. "Give me just a minute." Aurelius nodded, and Ev walked into the bathroom. He threw water on his face, straightened out his uniform, and ran his fingers through his hair. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he said, "I will find out why, Missy, if nothing else. I will find out why." He went out to rejoin the commander. Once he had kissed his wife good-bye, they walked out of the infirmary and towards the airlock. As they walked, Ev asked, "How did you talk him into it?"

An impish grin appeared on the other man's face. "Actually, it didn't take a lot once the communication from Earth was received."

"Communication?"

"Yes, apparently, the leader of your country was not happy about what the prisoners tried to do, and he was not going to let the murderers of American servicemen and women get away with it. And also, something was said about not letting George down since he was gone now and making sure George's daughter was taken care of." He gave him an inquisitive look. "Who's George's daughter?"

Softly chuckling, Everett replied, "That would be my wife. George Hammond was her adoptive father. He died about a year ago. And President Hayes is her godfather." He shrugged his shoulders. "She doesn't like being treated differently, and there are not a lot of people that know about either relationship, but if it means these people will get punished for what they did, I will take it."

"I would too." They walked up to where General O'Neill was waiting for them at the air lock. "Hello General."

Jack nodded politely. "Commander, Colonel." He looked over at Aurelius, and, indicating Everett, asked, "Did you tell him the conditions?

"We hadn't gotten that far. You may, if you wish."

Gazing at Ev, the general replied, "Well, the main one is: You need to keep the temper in check. Hayes wants them brought back in irons. He wants the satisfaction of telling them they'll never see the light of day again."

"I'm glad to hear that, Sir," said Everett.

"I was too. He's already started the process of reorganizing the IOA—told our allies that he wasn't going to tolerate any of what's just happened, and if necessary, he will put control of the stargate back in our hands."

"That's good."

"Well, let's do this." Gaius signaled to his ship to open the entrance, and the three of them walked through. After they arrived at the detention area, he said to Ev, "Okay, you can ask any questions you like, and you can also tell them they're never going to get out of prison if you want. Did you have anything specific in mind?"

A haunted expression came over Everett's face. "I just want to know why. Was getting the Destiny so important that sacrificing people was worth it to them? I've done my best since I've been here. So has Missy. I really just want to know why."

"Okay, we can do that."

They walked into the detention area where they saw the eight prisoners who had been grouped two to a cell. Edward Strom sneered at them. "So, General O'Neill, you finally deigned to see us, and you brought your lap dog too."

The British ambassador spoke up. "My government won't stand for this."

"I will echo his words," said the Chinese ambassador.

O'Neill, with a grim smile of satisfaction on his face, replied, "Already been taken care of, gentlemen. There's not a one of you that will ever see the light of day again."

"But, but…."

"There are no buts. Two servicewomen were murdered, scores of men and women were injured-some severely, and the chance for an alliance with a powerful ally was almost lost. President Hayes has no tolerance for this kind of garbage, and he especially doesn't have tolerance for the injuries sustained by his goddaughter. But, that's not why we're here." He indicated Colonel Young. "The colonel has something to ask you."

Strom gave Young a superior look as he tried to goad him. "And what would that be, colonel?"

Facing him with a steely stare, Everett didn't answer for a moment. Then he walked up to the cell Strom was in and said, "Why? Was the Destiny so important to you that the lives of this crew were irrelevant? Your lackey…" He motioned to Jones who was in another cell. "Murdered two women, one of whom was pregnant, and caused injuries to several other people some of them being severe. Did their lives just not matter to you?"

A voice answered him from one of the other cells. It was Camille Wray who said, "Colonel, you will probably not believe this, but it was not meant for anyone to die, and it was only meant for one person to be hurt."

"What!" Ev turned to her. "Who was the person meant to be hurt," already knowing in his heart what she was going to say?

"Your wife," answered Strom, "Or the slut you call your wife. You weren't meant to be here, and neither was she. This posting was meant to go to Colonel Telford." He paced back and forth in the cell. "But when you got here and your complete disregard for the rules became known, you weren't removed from command, and you had the support of the majority of the crew." He gazed at O'Neill. "I blamed the general for that, but when you met the Alterans, I realized we had an opportunity."

"You bastard!" Everett took several deep breaths to control his anger. "What were you planning to do to my wife?"

"Well, we kidnapped her sister and substituted Hilton here for her. She was going to feed her enough hallucinatory drugs to make all of you think she was crazy, and then you would have taken her through the gate, and we would have had more influence on the negotiations or at the very least we could have stolen this ship and brought it back to Earth.

General O'Neill spoke up angrily. "You're a son of a bitch, Strom! Did you ever think about how you would get the ship back?" He noticed the man starting to answer. "No, don't answer that. It would just mean you displaying your lack of intelligence once more. And as far as the rules go, General Hammond and I thought you making that rule about military and civilian members of a team not being allowed to be together was the stupidest rule the IOA had ever made up. And President Hayes agreed with me. That's why Colonel Young was never relieved of command. What I don't understand is why you were so angry. Was it because it limited your influence, or was there another reason?"

"Ahh yes, I had a personal reason for going after Colonel Young and Dr. Young too."

"What was that?" asked Ev.

"You do remember your first wife, don't you?" He saw the look of shock on the other man's face. "That's right; Anna and I went to the same college and stayed in touch until she married you. She contacted me right after you left for Icarus—said you had left her for her sister. And then she died when you all got stuck here. That is why I have tried to get rid of you from day one."

His thoughts in turmoil, Everett paced from one end of the detention area to the other. He realized that what had happened the night before they had left for Icarus had placed him and Melissa on a path that led straight to this point. It tore him apart to realize that her injuries were the result of this man who had such an extreme vendetta against him. But, then a look of determination came over his face. "I'm sorry to tell you, Strom, what you were told is not true, and there are more people than me that can testify to that. I didn't leave Anna. She left me, and the reason for that was because I wouldn't tell her about the stargate. Whatever she told you was a lie. Now, I will say that Melissa and I probably should have waited until we both were divorced, but I do not regret telling her that I love her because I do, and I do not regret anything about my children. And for what you have done, you are going to stay in jail for the rest of your life, and after your sorry life is over, I hope you rot in hell!" He left the detention area.

The prisoners and O'Neill and Aurelius gazed at each other in shock after he left. O'Neill said to Aurelius, "I think that covers what I wanted too. I will let you know when we're ready to transport them."

Gaius responded, "Of course, General."

They heard a noise from one of the cells. It was Camille who said, "General, I just had one other question I'd like to ask if that's okay." When she saw Jack nod, she continued, "You said that President Hayes' goddaughter had been injured in the attack. Who is she?"

O'Neill gave her a Cheshire cat grin. "You people always talk about politics and who knows who. I hate playing that game, but in this case, it has been beneficial. Melissa is President Hayes' goddaughter, and I think you already know that she was George Hammond's adopted daughter. If he was still alive, he would have torn you apart so I and several otherpeople are doing it in his stead. Ladies and gentlemen, good day." The general and the commander left the area and rejoined Everett who was standing outside the door. Jack placed his hand on Ev's shoulder. "Are you okay, son?" He saw the other man turn around with pain and guilt in his eyes. "It wasn't your fault, Everett. Strom was crazy, and he managed to keep the fact he knew Anna a secret."

Shrugging his shoulders, Ev said, "I keep thinking that if we hadn't of gotten drunk that night, Missy wouldn't be in the position she's in now. But, I can't regret it. I can't regret telling her I loved her, because I do, and I most definitely don't regret my children."

"You shouldn't regret either. Life is too short. And if it helps, we're working on new rules for personnel in Homeworld Command, the SGC, and offworld bases because of what's happened."

"I just want her to get better, Sir. That's all I want."

"I think a lot of other people want that too. Let's head back." The two of them told Commander Aurelius farewell, and went back to the Destiny.

For the next day and a half, the crew of the Destiny healed from the horrific attack with those who hadn't been injured helping their friends who had been. Traffic was heavy going in and out of the infirmary, and Everett was glad to see people regaining consciousness. He made sure to walk around giving people encouragement, and they told him how sorry they were about what had happened to Melissa.

Specialist Gemini was also helpful in making sure Katie and Matthew were fed and had just finished doing so when Chloe and Eli, who had come to visit, noticed Melissa's eyes briefly blink. Chloe touched Ev, who had turned to say hello to his children, to get his attention. "Colonel, I think someone is waking up."

Turning his head back towards the bed, Everett saw the brief movement that Chloe had seen, and his eyes lit up with hope. He took Missy's hands in his. "We really want to see your eyes, Missy. Can you wake up for us?"

He heard a voice behind him. It was Nicholas Rush who said, "We would really like that too, lass."

Everett smiled as the other people standing with Dr. Rush added their voices of encouragement. Finally, Chloe gazed towards the bed and saw her friend blink several times in succession. "She's waking up, Colonel."

Nodding, Ev continued to speak to his wife, "Come on, Missy. You can do it. We're all waiting for you." Missy's eyes finally opened all the way, and she focused on him. "Oh, thank God. I love you." He noticed her trying to speak. "What is it?"

Melissa, who had fought her way back to consciousness, dimly saw her husband's face in front of her. She struggled to speak. "Ev…..what…hap….pened?"

"Someone hurt you, honey, but you're gonna be okay. How are you feeling?"

It took Missy a minute to process the information, but before she could say anything, a piercing pain went through her head. She flailed with her hands trying to get them up to her temples. "Head…hurt…..bad."

Her husband grabbed her hands, sitting directly in front of her. "Missy, focus!" When he saw her look directly at him, he said, "What can I do?" She took his hands and guided them to her temples, motioning for him to start massaging them. "Like this?" When he saw her nod, he kept the motion up and murmured comforting words. "It's okay, baby, I'm here. I'm here. You're gonna be okay." The pure intimacy of the gesture had the rest of the group standing around the bed in tears. Finally, Ev felt her body relax. "Better?"

"Yes…..thank…..you." She remembered the last thing that had happened, and she started looking around frantically. "Babies….okay?"

"They're both fine." He motioned to Chloe and Specialist Gemini who lifted them up. "See?"

An expression of relief came over Missy's face. "Good. Are…..they…hungry?"

Ev shook his head. "It's taken care of, Missy. Don't worry about it. You just need to get better."

"Okay." She gazed past him to see several of her friends, and she tremulously smiled. Then she saw a female figure at the end of the bed and started shaking with fear. Melissa lifted up her hand and pointed. "Patti…..hurt …..me."

Glancing back, Ev saw Patti standing there and cursed, "Oh, shit!" He turned back to his wife and took her in his arms. "No, baby, a fake Patti hurt you. This is the real Patti, I promise. She won't come near you if you don't want her to, but she wanted to see you."

Patti cautiously approached the bed and held her hand out. "I am so sorry, Missy. I wouldn't have wanted this to happen for the world. We've all wanted you to be home so badly. Kayla and Tessa haven't been able to stop talking about their new cousins." She stopped talking as she waited for Melissa to react.

Not understanding the concepts of fake and real, Missy latched onto the only thing she felt was secure. She wrapped her arms around Everett tightly and buried her face in his chest. "No…..no…don't…..come….near me! You…..hurt…..me!"

Starting to weep, Patricia allowed Cam to lead her away. "All right, Missy. But I will come back. I won't try and touch you until you want me to, but you need to know I am not the person who hurt you or tried to hurt your babies or the person…." She ignored the frantic shaking of Ev's head. "who shot and killed the other ones in here." She and Cameron left the infirmary.

When they were gone, Melissa leaned back and stared at her husband with a look of horror on her face. "Shot…and….killed?" What…happened?" Ev told her what had happened with TJ, Rush, and Linda adding in the details they knew. Once they were done, Missy gazed around the infirmary noticing all the full beds and then looked back at the others with tears pouring down her face. "Who….died?"

A look of deep sadness came over his face because he knew what this news was going to do to her. "Airman Schulz and….Sergeant Baker."

"No." She started weeping and tightened her arms around Everett who rocked her and whispered in her ear. Once she calmed down, Melissa stared at her husband determinedly. "I….want…..to…..see."

Ev shook his head. "No, Missy. You just regained consciousness."

They heard a voice behind them. It was Dr. Giovanni who said, "Well, well, look who's awake. How are you feeling, Melissa?"

Missy replied haltingly. "It's hard…..for…me…to talk. Feel like….my….brain…is in….a fog. Is something….wrong?"

The doctor nodded reassuringly at her while giving Everett a warning glance. "We'll just have to wait and see. Did I hear you say you wanted to get up?"

"Yes. I….want…to see…my….friends….who died." She tried to stand up, but stopped when Ev gently pushed her back. "Please, Ev."

Ruefully chuckling, Everett replied, "I've never been able to tell you no, Missy. All right, if the doctor says you can get up, you can get up. But you have to let me help you, okay?"

Missy smiled at her husband. "Always…..Ev."

They both looked at the doctor who held up her hands and smiled at them. "Melissa, if there is one thing I have learned in the days I've known you; it's that you are determined. I'm glad I requested for this to be brought from the Caprea." She motioned to one of the attendants who brought what looked like a wheel chair over to the bed. "This is a hover chair. It transports patients from one place to another. You can go if you use this and then come straight back."

"Oh….like…wheelchair. Okay." She let Ev help her get in the chair, and they went to the other end of the infirmary where Dr. Giovanni's staff had left the bodies. Missy cautiously stood up when they got to Jessie's body and touched her hand. "I….am…so sorry….Jessie. Thank….you….for…helping…..with my….babies." She touched her cheek and then went to the next body. Everett could see the emotion on her face as she touched Lindsay's stomach and began speaking. "Little one…I….am glad…you are….safe…in ….heaven…with your….mama." She turned to her husband. "Before…this…mess started…..Lindsay…had….decided…on….names. John Michael….for a boy…..and Shannon Melissa…for a….girl." Tears started coming down her face once more. "If…we….ever have….another….girl, I…want…to…..name her….Lindsay Jessica. Do….you like…it?"

Everett sadly smiled at her. "Of course I do, baby. We can do whatever you want."

Smiling through her tears, Melissa said, "Thank you….sweetheart." She started to sway on her feet. "I think….I should…go….back to….bed now."

Her husband caught her and helped her back to the chair. "I think that's a good idea." They went back to her bed, and he helped her get settled. Once he had done that, the doctor examined her and told her she needed plenty of rest so she could heal. When she was finished, Ev helped Missy lie down, and the others wished her farewell.


	17. Chapter 17

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 17

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. I've really appreciated everyone that has read this so far. Reviews are always appreciated.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

After they were gone, Ev went to speak with Stacia. Motioning to the bed, he asked, "Okay, what's the deal? You don't need to sugar-coat it for me. The pain in her head looked really bad. I can't imagine what it made her feel like."

Stacia responded, "Well, if I understand the reference correctly, you want the truth. I can do that. I believe there is some damage. Your mate is going to have a long hard road, and there is no guarantee she will ever have everything back."

A look of sorrow appeared on Ev's face which was almost immediately replaced by a look of determination. "You mentioned earlier about the special doctors on Altera. Do you really think they could help Missy?"

"I do."

Everett took a deep breath. "Okay, I need to speak with Commander Aurelius. Can you…."

A voice interrupted him. It was the commander who was standing with General O'Neill and Dr. Jackson. "You need to speak with me, Colonel?"

"Yes, but you couldn't have known I needed to speak with you. Why are you here?"

Gaius motioned to Jack and Daniel. "We wanted to check on how your mate was doing and to let you know the prisoners will be transported shortly. Did she wake up?"

"She did." He turned to where TJ was sitting with Missy and quietly talking with her. "She had bad pains in her head, and her speech was very hesitant like she had to think of what to say. Dr. Giovanni was saying she thought there might be some kind of damage."

"I am so sorry, Everett," said O'Neill. "We will make sure Missy has the best doctors when we get everyone home."

"Thank you, Sir." He looked over at the commander. "There was a reason I needed to speak with you though."

"I gathered that," said Gaius. "I was going to tell you that I thought it was time for truth-telling. Once they know the truth, they will know your decision is the correct one."

The other two men looked at Ev and Gaius curiously with Jack saying, "What are you talking about?"

"I've come to a decision, and I think once you hear the whole story, you will understand why I need to do this."

"Go on."

"Did you wonder how the Alterans knew where to find us?"

"The thought had crossed my mind."

"Well, it goes something like this." Everett began the story of when he and Melissa had first discovered their true Alteran origins. He told of the appearance of David and an older version of their daughter right after the crew had first come to the Destiny and how they had said the Alterans were coming. He also talked about the empathic abilities that they had become more aware of and the appearance of their ascended parents the night before the wedding.

Commander Aurelius added in his comments about how ascended beings had appeared to members of his government and how they had told them of the existence of Destiny and the group from Earth. By the time he had finished telling of how the Caprea was sent on its mission; O'Neill and Jackson were looking at them in shock. O'Neill asked Ev, "And you believe all this?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you report it?"

The younger man motioned around the infirmary. "Do you have to ask that, Sir? I had to protect Melissa and our babies. She had already been attacked once before they even appeared. And then Telford attacked her. Sir, I love Missy and our children with every ounce of my being, and I will protect them."

"I understand that. What decision have you come to?"

Everett took a deep breath because he knew his next statement would change his family's lives forever, but he knew in his heart that it was the right decision to make. "Sir, as of now, I resign my commission." He looked at Gaius. "And I accept your offer on behalf of myself and my family."

O'Neill gazed at Aurelius suspiciously. "What offer?"

Gaius spoke up. "My offer for them to travel to Altera with us so his mate can get help from our doctors who are trained in brain injuries. She is Alteran, and I think this would be the wisest course of action for her. I know we will eventually want to exchange ambassadors, and there will also be a role for some of your scientists if they wish to stay."

Stunned silent, it took the general a moment to speak. When he did, he said, "You are right about everything you said, but…." He motioned to Missy's bed. "There's no way she's capable of consenting to that."

A voice came from behind them. It was Cameron Mitchell who had Patti with him. "He's right. She's not capable."

That started a furious argument with everyone in the group putting in their opinions about the matter. Finally, they heard a loud noise from the direction of the beds. It was TJ who yelled, "All of you, shut up!" She had gone to Melissa who was sitting up and trying to talk. "Sir, I think Melissa wants you."

Ev went to his wife and took her hands in his. "What is it, baby? What do you need?"

Looking at him and the others determinedly, Missy replied, "Ev….speaks…for me. Want….to…get help….and…..want…to know…..my heritage. I…..want…this…..for my…..family."

Holding his thumb up, Everett smiled proudly at his wife. "Good job, honey." He kissed her forehead. "I will make sure you get the help you need." He turned back to the others. "I hope this resolves once and for all, Melissa's capability of consenting."

O'Neill stared at him for a long moment before answering. "It does."

"Jack!" protested Patti. Daniel and Cameron also added in their protests.

"Stop it, all of you! I know you all care about her, and from what I just heard, this will be the best thing for her." He walked to the side of Missy's bed and smiled fondly at her, clasping her hand, while speaking to her sister. "Patti, I promised you girls' dad I would look after you when he passed. I'm still concerned about this, but I'm not going to deny her something that might help her. And besides, we're establishing diplomatic relations with the Alterans. We're going to be exchanging personnel back and forth." He looked at Commander Aurelius. "That's correct, right?"

"It is," said Gaius. "Anyone who has the trust of Everett and Melissa is welcome. And, of course, this is up to you, but may I suggest that appointing Everett as your ambassador to our people would be a good way to start."

"I do have input into who is chosen. We will consider it."

The other man nodded, and O'Neill left the infirmary with the others from Earth following him. Once they were gone, Ev sat on the bed with his wife and put his arm around her. "I am very proud of you, Missy." She smiled at him and nestled in the crook of his arm as the others took seats or stood around the bed. Looking around at all of them, Ev said, "Well, I guess I'm not a colonel anymore." He turned to Melissa and softly stroked her cheek. "Don't care though. My main priority is to make sure this one gets all the help she needs."

Gaius warmly smiled at them. "And you will have it. Dr. Giovanni told me she had told you about the special doctors we have on Altera that help with traumatic brain injuries."

"Yes. That's the main reason I decided we would come with you."

Dr. Rush spoke up, "I am glad the lass will be able to get help, but I did have a question."

"What's that, Doctor?"

An uncertain look came over Rush's face. "I was wondering if Linda and I would be considered people that you trust. We had talked about going to Altera if you decided to go. As you know, neither of us have anyone on Earth." He motioned to the next bed where a propped-up Linda was eagerly nodding. "She was just saying how she wanted to help the lass with the babies, and you know I wouldn't pass up a chance to learn more about the Destiny. Will you have us?"

"Of course, I trust you. You saved my son's life, and we would welcome both of you wholeheartedly." He gazed at his wife affectionately. "I know it will help her to have some familiar people around her. You will need to talk to General O'Neill though. I want to make sure he has a running list of those who want to stay."

"I understand, and I'll do so. Thank you."

Another voice came from across the room. It was TJ who was sitting on Mac's bed. "We would like to come too, Sir." Mac weakly smiled as he nodded his agreement.

Everett's eyes opened in surprise. "But, TJ, you have people on Earth. Are you sure?"

"Yes, Sir. I'll miss everyone on Earth, but Mac and our baby are my family now. You and Melissa taught me that."

"That's right," said Mac. "And with that, I have a very important question for you, Tamara."

TJ turned to him, and he took her hands in his. "What is it, Mac?"

"Will you marry me? I love you very much, and I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you and our child and hopefully more children."

An excited look came over the young medic's face. "Yes, yes, I will." She leaned over and kissed him. "I love you too."

Gaius spoke up. "Congratulations to both of you. I can make arrangements for an Alteran bonding ceremony if you'd like." After he saw them eagerly nod, he continued, speaking to Ev, "Well, including the children, that makes eight so far, that are coming with us. Do you know how big General O'Neill will want the first group to be?"

"I'm not sure," replied Everett, "But I'm thinking there will probably roles for scientific and military personnel. Except for the people who worked with the IOA, I would welcome anyone on this ship. Dr. Rush could tell you the best scientists, and for anyone coming from Earth, I believe they would be thoroughly vetted. At least, I intend for them to be."

"I think that is appropriate."

They heard a voice from the entrance to the infirmary. It was Ronald Greer who was with Eli, Chloe, and Lieutenant Scott. "There'll be one more if you'll have me, Sir. I heard Colonel Telford talking in the Mess. He intends to make sure I never work in the stargate program again once we get back to Earth." He shrugged his shoulders. "I like being in space, and I would much prefer to stay at your side. Besides, after the conversation we…" He motioned to the others who had just come in. "Just had in the hallway, my namesake, well..." He pointed to Scott. "Our namesake will need someone to look after him. Will you have me?"

Ev walked over and shook his hand. "That's not right, Ronald, and of course, we will have you, but there is something the three of you…." He pointed to Ronald, TJ and Mac. "Will need to remember."

"What, Sir?" asked TJ?

"I am not in the military anymore so colonel or sir is no longer appropriate." He went and sat back with Missy on the bed, putting his arm around her. "We're a family, an unusual one to be sure, but a family and families usually call one another by their first names."

Melissa spoke up. "That's….right…Ronald. Thank…you…for…..what you…said. I….think of….you…as a brother." She gazed around at the group. "I….think….of…all of….you as…..brothers…and…..sisters."

Walking over to the bed, Chloe gave her a hug. "I think of you as a sister too, Melissa. But…."

Ev noticed the hesitant look on the younger woman's face and the other two men's faces. "You're going back to Earth, Chloe. That's okay. I know you and Eli still have living parents, and I know you, lieutenant, want to stay with her. Doesn't mean you're not part of this family too."

Tears came down Chloe's face. "Thank you, Colonel. Or I guess I could say Everett now." She motioned to Eli and Scott. "We talked in the hallway. I want to change the face of politics and how they deal with the military and the stargate program. I know the sacrifices you all have made now, and I want to bring decency back to Washington. General O'Neill has offered me a position with the IOA, and I'm going to take it."

The group gaped at the young woman in astonishment with TJ saying, "That's great, Chloe!"

"Yes, it is," said Everett with a warm smile. He motioned to Missy who was eagerly nodding. "We're both very proud of you."

Commander Aurelius nodded respectfully. "Miss Armstrong, I am impressed—especially from one so young. You would be welcome on Altera whenever you would like to visit. I can think of a few members of my government who would learn something by talking with you."

"Thank you, Sir," said Chloe.

"You're welcome. Let me go talk to General O'Neill and see what else needs to be done to complete the negotiations." Aurelius nodded at the group and left the infirmary.

Once he had left, Ev said, "Okay let's see what we can do to help move things along. Those of you who are staying need to let General O'Neill know, and Dr. Rush, I would like you to put in recommendations for scientists who would be good candidates to go to Altera."

"I can do that, Colonel," said Nicholas. "Wait a minute; I guess I should call you Everett now."

The other man grinned. "Yep."

"Well, only if you call me Nicholas."

"I can do that." He pointed to the baby bed. "You never said what you wanted the babies to call you. Have you thought about it?"

Gazing over at Linda fondly, the scientist said, "Well, Linda told me she had requested the title of grandma. I know I'm not a whole lot older than you, but maybe….grandpa would work." He glanced at the new parents hopefully.

Melissa tugged on Ev's sleeve and when he turned to her, he saw her smile and say, "I…..approve."

"I do too," said her husband.

With that, everyone who was healthy headed out, and Lieutenant Scott handed out assignments to different personnel to facilitate the transfers of people back to Earth and for supplies to be delivered to the ship for people who were staying. It was decided that the first group going to Altera would be a small one with more people coming after the Caprea and the Destiny had reached the planet and after General O'Neill had had the chance to reorganize the IOA and Homeworld Command. Everett was appointed the official ambassador to Altera with Dr. Rush being the chief scientist of the Earth delegation. Arrangements were made for the group that was staying to be moved into quarters on the Caprea since Commander Aurelius had decided to have his ship's engines linked in tandem with the Destiny's so they could travel together through space. During the week it took for the negotiations to be completed, the people who had been injured in the infirmary shooting had more time to heal. Melissa though made very slow progress as she was healing from her injuries as well as from the birth of her children. Dr. Giovanni determined that the damage she had sustained was mainly in her language processing center, and she and Specialist Gemini began therapy with her as well as having her share feedings of the children with the specialist.

It was decided to have a going-away party for all the Earth bound personnel the night before everyone was due to leave. About an hour before it was due to start, Everett walked back into the infirmary to see Missy carefully walking to the baby bed with Matthew in her arms. She placed him on the bed and then turned to her husband in excitement. "Did….you…see! Did…you…..see! I did….that…all by…myself. And…..I…fed him….too!"

Taking her in his arms, Ev hugged and kissed her and then said, "I did see that, honey. Great job!" He turned to Christiana and Stacia. "Looks like things are going well here."

"They are," said Stacia. "She did have a couple of headaches though."

Melissa pursed her lips and pouted. "Weren't….supposed…to….say…that…Stacia. I…want…..to…go to….party." A piercing pain went through her head, and she attempted to let go of Everett so she could massage her temples.

Grabbing her hands, Everett shook his head. "Uh, uh. Let me." He massaged her temples in motions that had become very familiar to him in the last week. When he felt his wife's body relax, he gently touched her cheek. "Better?"

"Yes…..thank….you." She gave him a pleading look. "You….won't…make me…..stay…here, will….you?"

"No, but it has to be okay with Stacia for you to come."

Melissa turned to the doctor. "Please….they're…..gonna…play….Earth…music."

The other three laughed as Stacia said, "I was going to tell him you could go, Melissa. You do, however, need to go in the hover chair. That way, you'll have a place to sit, especially if the babies need to be fed."

"All right." She turned to Ev. "Is…it…..time to…go?"

"Not quite," said Everett. "I thought I'd come and help you get ready, and we'd go to the Mess and get something to eat."

"Okay."

After he had helped her to get ready, the two of them left for the Mess with the specialist telling them she would bring the children to the party in a little while. When they got to the Mess, they found the group that was going to Altera with them all sitting at one table, and Ev pushed Missy's chair up to it saying, "Hello, are we ready to send the rest of this group back to Earth?"

Airman Becker brought two more rations as Mac replied, "Evening, Sir. I think we are." He noticed the rest of them shaking their heads. "What!"

TJ laid her hand on his shoulder. "You forgot again, Mac. You're not supposed to use sir or colonel anymore."

"That's right," said Greer with a grin. "And only ambassador if we're in public, or you have this overwhelming urge to be formal." The group laughed as at least one of them had repeated the same words to the others many times over the past week.

Lisa Park, who was sitting on the other side of Greer and who had decided to come with them after Ronald had told her how he felt about her, said, "Well, I for one don't have that problem. Hello Everett. Hello Melissa. Melissa, you look more alert today."

Warmly smiling at her friend, Missy replied, "I….think…I am…..Lisa. I…..carried…..Matthew…by….myself, and…..I…..just…had a…few….headaches."

The other woman's eyes lit up with pleasure. "That's great!" She motioned to the sling on her arm. "I will be really glad when this can come off. It's still pretty sore."

"I….hope it…..comes…off….soon too."

Continuing to eat, the group had a pleasant time talking and laughing. Mac, who had also come to the Mess in a hover chair, motioned to himself, Linda, Missy, and Lisa. "I think we're all going to be in the walking wounded group tonight."

Everett clasped Missy's hand as he replied, "Well, at least, you are all still here. I am very grateful for that."

"I would have to agree," said Dr. Rush with a warm smile.

Everyone finished eating a short time later and headed for the gate room where the party was going to be. Once they had arrived, Ev pushed Missy's chair up to where several chairs had been placed and sat down next to her. He saw General O'Neill and Dr. Jackson approach them and greeted them. "Hello, Sir, Daniel."

"Hello, Ambassador," said O'Neill. "That has such a nice ring to it."

Daniel nudged him. "Well, you know that could have been me."

The other man rolled his eyes. "Down, boy. Yes, you will get to go to Altera, but not yet. I need your help with reorganizing the IOA."

"Yes, I know." He spoke to Melissa. "How are you feeling, Missy?"

"I'm….feeling…okay…..Daniel," said Missy. "Where's….Patti?"

"Oh, she'll be along. She and Cameron were arranging a little surprise."

"Oh, okay."

Members of the Destiny and Caprea's crews and of the Earth delegation made their way into the gate room. Over the past week, the different crews had been able to get to know one another so the conversations were cordial. When it looked like just about everyone was there, General O'Neill called for everyone's attention. "It's nice to see everyone here tonight and to see people healthy. Hope you all have a good time." He gazed at Everett and Commander Aurelius who had walked in. "Do either of you want to say anything?"

Aurelius nodded. "Thank you for inviting us to this gathering. I am looking forward to hearing Earth music."

"You're welcome, Commander." He glanced at Ev. "What about you, Ambassador?"

Standing up to address the crowd, Ev smiled and said, "Glad to see everyone here. Have a good time and enjoy the music."

O'Neill motioned for Sergeant Harper and Eli to start the music, and people resumed their conversations with some of them getting up to dance. He walked back over to where Missy and Ev were talking to some people. "So, have you guys moved over to the Caprea yet?"

"We'll be sleeping over there tonight, and Missy's therapy will start being over there tomorrow."

"Excellent, and that's going well?"

Melissa, who had been following the conversation, said, "Stacia….has…..puzzles…on the…..Caprea. Said….doing…them…would…..help…..my…brain….re….connect. And….I get…to…plant….flowers too." She smiled in triumph that she had gotten all the words out.

Her husband turned to her and smiled. "That's right, baby." He turned back to Jack. "The x-rays indicate there might be some bruising on her brain, but we won't know that until the swelling goes all the way down. She's doing pretty well, but she forgets things a lot. That's why the doctor said this therapy would help. They're also having her practice holding the babies and feeding them too." He clasped her hand. "I'm pleased with the way things are going."

"That's good," said Jack who then moved off to talk with some other people.

Once he had gone, Missy tugged on Ev's sleeve, and he looked over at her. "What is it, honey?"

"Can…we…dance," asked Missy with a hopeful expression? "Just…..once."

Everett gazed at Dr. Giovanni who had just come in. "Is that okay? I don't want to tire her out or anything."

"It should be fine," said Stacia. "Just watch her fatigue level."

"All right." He helped Melissa get out of the chair, and the two of them walked over to the dance floor. Taking her in his arms, they began to slowly sway to the music. He noticed the long braid down her back. "You look pretty tonight, Missy. Did you braid this yourself?"

His wife smiled at him affectionately. "No…..Stacia did. She…saw…me…try….ing…..to and…..said…she….knew….how. Called….it a….saeta braid. Said…..she…would…teach me."

"Very cool." He brought her close to him. "You are so amazing." At her inquisitive look, Everett caressed her cheek and told her, "You bring me so much joy, and you're always happy to see me. Anna was never happy to see me."

Hugging him, Missy said, "Why….wouldn't…..I…be…happy? I….love…you."

"I love you too." They continued to dance.

Meanwhile, Cameron and Patti had entered the gate room with another woman who had long dark hair, looking enough like Patti to be her sister, and was, in fact, her sister, Amanda. Cam gestured to the large expanse of a room and said, "So, we're back where we started from. What do you think, Mandy?"

Mandy replied to Patti, "If this is the kind of thing our little sister has been involved with for the past seven years, I am totally amazed. She never let on at all."

"No, she didn't," said Patti, "But I think that was the point." She noticed  
>Cam looking at the crowd of dancers. "Who do you see, Cameron?" They followed his gaze and saw Missy dancing with Ev. She put her arm around him. "Are you okay?"<p>

He turned back to her. "Yeah, I think I am. I don't think I told you two. Sam and I went on our first date a few weeks ago. I think I might have the start of something special with her. Anyway, she told me, when I was about to leave, that I needed to come so I could get Missy out of my system, and I think I have."

"What do you mean?"

Cameron gestured to the dancers. "Just look—look at the joy and love they show when they look at each other. I have never seen Everett look like that—not even with Anna, and while I think Missy and I were happy together, she never looked at me like that either. They're meant to be, and I'm okay with that." He gazed back at the sisters. "And I want you to be okay with it too. Hopefully, we can all still be friends."

"Of course," said Mandy who reached over and gave him a hug. "And I think I remember Patti telling me that Missy had said the same thing."

"Yes, she did."

"Well, let's go tell her I'm here." She noticed Everett leading Missy back to the chairs. "I can't wait to see the look on her face."

They walked over to the chairs with Cam and Patti getting in front of Mandy. When they arrived, Patti greeted her sister. "Hi Missy. How are you feeling?"

Melissa smiled at the two of them. "Hi Patti. Hi Cam. I'm….okay. Daniel….said…you…had….surprise."

"Oh, yes." They moved out of the way so Missy could see Mandy.

Her eyes widening, an expression of joy appeared on Missy's face. "Mandy!" She got up to give her a hug. "I'm…glad…..to see you….but how?"

Mandy replied, "I'm glad to see you too, Missy." The newcomers and Melissa sat in the chairs. She pointed at Cameron and Patti. "Thank them. They thought you might like to see me."

Nodding at them, Missy said, "Thank….you."

The three women started talking enthusiastically with one another while Everett took Cam aside. "Thank you. This means a lot to her."

Cameron shook his hand. "Everett, I've told you. I want us to still be friends. Did you tell her about me and Sam?"

"I did. She actually has something for you." He got Missy's attention and said, motioning to Cam, "Honey, did you bring it?"

His wife gazed at him uncomprehendingly for a moment and then realized what he was talking about. "Yes." She took something out of her pocket and dropped it in Cam's hand. Everyone could see that it was a set of wedding rings. Putting her hand on top of his, she told him, "When…you….are…..ready, give…..this to…..Sam. Want…..you to…..be….happy."

Glancing at the rings and then back at his former wife, Cameron squeezed her hand, and, with emotion in his voice, said, "Well, when I give this to Sam, I want you and Everett to come to the wedding. That means you have to be healthy, okay?"

"Okay."

The group continued to talk with one another, visiting with the people who stopped by as well as watching the people who were dancing. A few minutes later, Ev had gone with Commander Aurelius and General O'Neill to another part of the room, and the three were discussing what some of his duties as ambassador were going to be. Ev asked Jack, "Okay, Sir, exactly how are you planning to vet people who come to Altera?"

O'Neill replied, "Well, I already have some of my people working on gutting anyone from the IOA who had a strong association with Strom and his cronies. I'm taking Rush's recommendations for scientists, and anyone who wants to apply for the Altera posting is going to go through a rigorous interview and background check. No one will get through who we don't want to get through."

"Very good."

Walking over to join them, Dr. Jackson heard the last thing that O'Neill said and asked a question of his own. "Commander, we're still going to get access to your historical database, right?"

Aurelius responded, "Of course, Dr. Jackson, and I know our historians will be just as eager to see your database." He turned to the general. "Will our personnel be located near your stargate?"

"They will. There are a lot of people that are looking forward to meeting them."

Nodding with approval, the commander continued, "I know this alliance will be productive for both of our governments. In fact, I received a message the other day that….." His voice trailed off, and the music gradually stopped as they noticed the appearance of three ghost-like figures in the middle of the room.


	18. Chapter 18

The Best-Laid Plans – Chapter 18

Author's Notes – Refer to Chapter 1 for all the thank yous. This is the final chapter. I've really appreciated everyone who has taken this journey with me. Since I have now definitely gone alternate universe with this series, I would love feedback and would love to see if anyone is interested in reading about any further adventures Everett, Melissa, and the others have on Altera. I am also planning to set up my own website to showcase my writing this summer, and I will post the URL on my profile when it's ready.

Disclaimer – Refer to Chapter 1

Upon the appearance of the ghostlike figures, the room completely quieted. Jack approached them carefully. "Hello."

One of the figures greeted him. "Hello, General O'Neill. I suppose you're wondering why we're here."

Shaking his head with a wry chuckle, Jack turned to Daniel. "Here we go again. Another Oma Desala wanna be."

"Not quite. As I told Ambassador Young…" He indicated Everett with his hand. "When I was here before, the ascended beings in this galaxy are somewhat different than the ones in your own galaxy. I believe the ambassador also knows who I am."

Ev, who had recognized him the instant the figures had appeared, said, "Hello, David. It's been awhile."

"It has."

He motioned to the people around the room. "Did things turn out the way you envisioned?"

A hearty laugh came out of David's mouth. "They never do with you beings on the lower plain, but I think your people and the Alterans have made a promising beginning, and that is just what we were hoping for."

The general interrupted, "So, you were the one that appeared to the ambassador to start with? How did you know of his and Melissa's existence?"

"Because their parents are with us now. They have a destiny far beyond what you can imagine, and they are actually the reason we are here tonight." He saw the look of concern on O'Neill's face. "We know what has happened to Melissa. It was not meant to happen that way. Because of that, we want to give you a gift and ease your concerns about them going to Altera." The men and the ascended beings continued to talk with everyone in the room paying rapt attention to them.

Meanwhile, Missy had been talking with her sisters when the ascended beings had made their appearance. Patti and Mandy had stared at them in fascination with Patti saying to Missy, "Who are those people? They look like ghosts."

The other woman smiled and told her sister, "They're…..ascended…beings. Helped….us…many….times over….the…years. Kind…of like….angels."

"Oh, okay."

An ascended being appeared near them; startling Missy and her sisters and making the other people near them back away a few steps. It was the figure of a woman, and when Missy got a good look at her, her eyes widened in surprise. "Mama?"

It was the figure that had appeared to her before. "Yes, Melissa. I've been concerned for you and the injuries you suffered, but this is the first chance I've had to come and see you."

"Someone….hurt….me."

"I know. You've risen to the challenge though like you did when you were a child."

Patti stared at the figure in amazement. "Do you mean you were her biological mother? I mean, General O'Neill told me about her being Alteran, but it was so hard for me to….imagine."

The figure that used to be known as Katherine Allen smiled. "Yes, Patricia. I was Melissa's biological mother. When her father and I were killed by those men near the military base where your father worked, we ascended. We were very grateful that yours and Amanda's parents took Melissa in. And we've watched over her ever since." She turned to her daughter. "Melissa, I can't totally heal you, but I can start the process and with your hard work, I know you will finish it. Your father and I love you very much, and you have Everett's love—a love that spans galaxies. I wish you a wonderful life."

"I….love…you…..too, Mama," said Missy.

Nodding, Katherine reached out her ghost-like hand and placed it on her daughter's forehead. Missy closed her eyes, and the fog that had been present since everything had happened partially disappeared. When she opened her eyes, her sisters glanced at her and Mandy asked, "What happened, Missy?"

Looking at them with joy in her eyes, Melissa said, "I feel…better."

They heard a voice at the front of the group say, "The alliance has been cemented, and the gift has been given. Remember this if you remember nothing else; love will always overcome.

With those words, Missy heard the beginnings of a song from the console where the music had been playing. She heard Eli say he didn't understand why the music was getting louder and realized this was a gift she could give to Ev to let him know that things were better. As she walked towards the center of the crowd, she began singing over Sara Evans' voice in a strong and steady voice of her own.

"I can't imagine any greater fear.

Then waking up, without you here.

And though the sun would still shine on,

My whole world would all be gone, but not for long.

If I had to run, if I had to crawl,

If I had to swim a hundred rivers

Just to climb a thousand walls,

Always know that I would find a way

To get to where you are.

There's no place that far."

She was beginning the second verse by the time she reached the center of the room where her husband was. Missy noticed that he had tears running down his face and dimly noticed the same of the people that were standing nearest him.

"It wouldn't matter why we're apart,

Lonely minds or two stubborn hearts,

Nothing short of God above,

Could turn me away from your love.

I need you that much.

If I had to run, if I had to crawl,

If I had to swim a hundred rivers

Just to climb a thousand walls,

Always know that I would find a way

To get to where you are.

There's no place that far."

Missy clasped his hands as she finished the song singing with a voice that reflected her love for him.

When she was done, the room erupted in applause. Everett took her in his arms. "Is this the gift they were talking about—the miracle? Oh my God! How are you feeling?"

Giving him a look of love and joy, Melissa told him, "I feel…better. The fog…is almost…gone. Mama said…if I worked hard, I…could…make it the…rest of the way. I love you, Ev."

"I love you too, Missy." He brought her close to him in a hug and then stood there with his arm around her as their friends and family came offering congratulations. The rest of the evening was an evening of celebration and unity of two cultures, and by the time, Missy and Christiana were putting the babies in their cradle on the Caprea, Everett could tell that his wife was tired with all the excitement that had happened that evening. He took the specialist aside. "Do you think you'd be okay with handling the babies' feedings tonight? I was hoping Missy could get a full night's rest. We could divide everything up again tomorrow. I know Missy will eventually want to handle everything herself. Just don't want her to do it too soon and impede her recovery."

Christiana smiled and motioned to where Melissa was standing next to the cradle talking softly to the children. "Dr. Giovanni told me the exact same thing before she went to her quarters. That will be fine, Ambassador. It has been an honor and a privilege to help you and Melissa, and I feel like I have made new friends. I've come to love the children dearly too. I will be glad to help as long as it is needed. Do you want to meet for the morning meal?"

"That will be fine. Thank you." Ev walked back to the cradle. "Time for bed, Missy. We'll meet Christiana for breakfast in the morning, and then we'll go and see everyone off."

Gazing over at the two of them, Missy grinned and said, "All right…what are….you two…plotting?

"Just making sure you take care of yourself, honey. I know you well enough to know that you would try and leap back into doing everything before you recovered if you weren't encouraged to rest."

His wife rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm….gonna…surprise you." She put her arms around him and hugged him close to her. "I think…I would like…to lie…in your arms…on the….bed and not…have to worry….about…anything else."

He smiled softly at her and brushed a stray strand of hair off her face. "I like that a lot. Let's go to our quarters." They told the specialist good night and walked to the room next door. It didn't take long for them to get ready for bed, and once they were done, they got in the bed and relaxed with Everett putting his arms around Missy protectively. He turned her face towards him. "I am so grateful though I'm not quite sure how we rated all this attention from the ascended Alterans."

Gently kissing his lips, Melissa said, "Probably…because of…our parents. What…did the….other ascended…..beings tell…you?"

"They said we had a destiny to fulfill. I'm not sure if they meant the pun or not." He chuckled ruefully. "The only thing I'm concerned about right now is making sure you're okay and taking care of you and our babies."

"Thank you. I know…I'm not…totally….better yet, but…now I know….I can….get there." Pain went through her head. "Whoa, I wasn't expecting that." She gave him a pleading look. "Help me, please."

Lifting his hands to her forehead, Ev massaged her temples. He brushed his fingers over the knot on the side of her head which had hit the bed railing. "This still feels swollen, but not as bad as what it was before." He felt her body relax against him and put his arms around her once more. "Is that better?"

"Yes, thank you." She snuggled up in the crook of his arm. "What….will…being ambassador….involve?"

"Well, first it will involve meeting officials of the Alteran government and setting up an office. Gaius said he would help with finding space for an office and with finding a place for us to live. I told him it would be great if it could all be in the same building, but if not, they won't be very far apart. I want to make sure I'm there for you and the children too. Would you like it if you could plant a garden?"

His wife's eyes lit up. "I would….like that."

Glad he had found something to make her happy; he kissed her and said, "I'll make sure of it. Are you ready for bed, baby?"

"I am. I love you, Ev."

Everett reached over and turned off the light. "I love you too. Good night."

"Good night."

They drifted off to sleep content in their love for one another and their children. The next morning they got up and ate breakfast with Christiana after which they walked back over to the Destiny to say farewell to the rest of the crew as they headed back to Earth. Entering the gate room, Ev saw General O'Neill and Commander Aurelius and greeted them. "Good morning, Commander. Good morning, Sir."

"Morning, Everett. Morning, Missy. Did you guys get settled okay?"

"We did, and I think Missy got her first good night's sleep since the attack."

"Oh." Jack smiled at Melissa. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Missy replied, "I'm feeling….okay, Jack"

"Great! Where are the children?"

Ev motioned to the wall where Specialist Gemini was standing with a small wheeled device that appeared to be a stroller. "They're with Specialist Gemini. She's been helping us feed the babies, and she's wonderful with Missy. Very patient. We're planning to work Missy back in to handling the feedings herself, but I don't want to do it too fast."

"Sounds like you've got things well in hand, Everett. You both will be missed on Earth, but you're going to be spearheading things for people on two planets. You know you'll be in the history books, right?"

"Sir, I think we were just in the right place at the right time. I'm not interested in being famous—I just want to do my job the best way I know how, and I want to take care of my family." He put his arm around Melissa's waist and brought her close to him.

"Well, you've got your priorities in order. That's what's most important. We will stay in touch."

"Yes, Sir."

They were joined by Cameron, Patricia, and Amanda with Patti saying, "We will stay in touch too." She motioned to her sister. "And we are expecting to see pictures of those babies and for you to come and visit." She addressed the commander. "Do you have a way of taking pictures in your culture?"

Aurelius gazed at her with a quizzical look on his face. "Pictures?"

Having learned some Alteran words during the past week, Everett touched Gaius' shoulder and said the words that would reflect what Patti meant. "Etiam statua."

"Oh, okay. Yes, we do. We will be able to send plenty of images of them."

"Very good," said Patti. She reached over and hugged her sister as did Mandy. "We will miss you, Missy. I'm sorry about everything."

Melissa touched her face gently. "It's okay….Patti. Ev…will take care….of me and the….babies."

"We know he will. But we do want you to come and visit. Kayla and Tessa will want to meet their cousins. If we can talk Jack into it, we might even come and visit you." She grinned and batted her eyes at O'Neill who rolled his eyes amusedly.

"Tell them…I love them, and…I love….you both too."

General O'Neill then indicated to Sergeant Riley that he should begin dialing the gate. While the chevrons were spinning, he called for the group's attention. "Good morning. When we begin going through the gate, we will go through in designated groups so we won't crowd the gate room." He glanced at Everett. "I think the ambassador has a few words."

Nodding in thanks, Ev began speaking. "It was my privilege to be your commander. We wish you all the best as you return to your lives on Earth. You will always be in our thoughts. That is all."

The room erupted in applause which lasted for several moments. When it was finished, Sergeant Reynolds approached Everett with a cradle. "Sir, I made this for Lindsay's…" His voice caught. "For Sergeant Baker's baby, but since they're not here anymore, I know she'd want you to have it." He handed him the cradle.

Ev took the cradle from him placing it on the ground next to him as he struggled not to cry. "Thank you, Sergeant."

Reynolds then turned to Missy and dropped a necklace in her hands. "Ma'am, this is Lindsay's cross. She appreciated you so much—how you included her in the wedding and how you were there for her after Sergeant Spencer tried to hurt her." He took a couple of deep breaths. "She doesn't have any family on Earth, but I'm gonna make sure she's buried in a decent place. Thank you for what you meant to her."

Tears poured down Melissa's face as she reached over and hugged him. "Thank you….Sergeant. I will…always….treasure this."

He nodded in gratitude and stepped back. By this time, the wormhole had kawooshed, and Sergeant Riley had notified the SGC that the group was coming. General O'Neill said, "All right, let's go." The groups started walking through the gate after saying farewell to those who were staying. When it was just the last group left, Jack looked around at the people who were going to Altera one last time. "Good luck and god speed to all of you. We will keep in touch, and Ambassador, I will expect an official update once you arrive on Altera."

"Yes, Sir," said Everett.

The general nodded one last time, and he and his group walked through the gate. Once it had shut down, the group from Earth gathered in the middle of the gate room. Ronald Greer asked Missy, "So, are you sorry you didn't go home?"

Melissa gazed at him incredulously, but then, seeing his grin, realized he was teasing. She grinned back at him. "Don't know…what you're…talking about. I am home." She put her arms around Everett and drew him close to her. "Wherever…Ev and the…children are is….my home."

Tightening his arms around her waist, her husband smiled tenderly at her. "That's right. Wherever we are is home. Let's go to the observation deck of the Caprea and watch the ships go into FTL." He picked up the cradle.

The others agreed, and they left the gate room of the Destiny. As the two ships began their journey towards Altera, the new family that Everett, Melissa, and their friends had formed looked to the stars and wondered what secrets would be found within them and whether those secrets would contain their destiny.

A/N The song by Sara Evans is called No Place that Far. I thought that represented Everett and Missy's love story pretty well. The words 'etiam statua' are Latin for still images. I thought Latin would be a good language to represent Altera.


End file.
